Malcom Butehorn, Esq. is the Assistant Deputy Director of the newly established Compliance Unit at the New York City Council. With more than 8 million residents calling NYC home, from Woodlawn to Coney Island, every neighborhood in New York City is part of a Council District. There are 51 of these Districts, each represented by an elected Council Member. The Council is New York City’s legislative body and is separate from the Mayor’s administration but an equal partner in how the City is run. Since being at the Council, Malcom has served as counsel to the Committee on Civil Service and Labor and the Committee on Education. As committee counsel, he focused on legal and policy issues for the Speaker of the Council and Council Members; researching and drafting legislation; and representing the Council in legislative negotiations with the Office of the Mayor of New York City, New York City agencies, and advocates/lobbyists.

Malcom’s earliest work in government was as the Director of Government Relations for the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU). CICU is a statewide association representing the public policy interests of the chief executives of more than 100 independent colleges and universities in New York State. In this role Malcom focused on student aid advocacy, legislation and regulation around access and completion of higher education.  

Areas of expertise include labor law, human rights law and education law. In his new role of building the Compliance Unit from the ground up, Malcom’s efforts will focus on mayoral compliance on issues such as reporting, enforcement of laws and policies passed by the Council and transparency and accountability. He received his undergraduate degree from Boston University and earned his Juris Doctorate and a Master of Business Administration from Albany Law School and Clarkson University, respectively.