John_Mastando

John Mastando

  • Lecturer in Law

John P. Mastando III ’96 is a United States Bankruptcy Judge in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.  He was appointed to the bench by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and sworn-in on August 9, 2022.  Prior to joining the bench, he was a partner in the Litigation Department at Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, which he joined as a summer associate in 1995.  At Weil, he was a member of the Complex Commercial Litigation practice group and the co-head of the Firm’s Insurance Litigation practice.  Mastando successfully represented corporate clients in a wide range of areas, including insurance, bankruptcy, antitrust, intellectual property, contract, partnership, fraud, and unfair and deceptive acts and practices matters. He handled all phases of litigation, including trials (bench and jury), arbitrations, appeals, and investigations.  Mastando also had an extensive pro bono practice, working with, among others, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Immigration Equality.

Mastando is also involved in a broad array of professional, media and scholarly organizations. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Committee on Ethics and Professionalism of the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial and Federal Litigation section, and he is also a member of the Committee on Professional Ethics of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY) (having previously served three terms, including as secretary of the committee).  Mastando was also a member of the Committee on Insurance Law of the ABCNY from 2008-2011 and the Committee on Professional Responsibility from 2011-2014.   He was also previously selected to be a member of the Law360 Legal Ethics Editorial Advisory Board, and was a member of the Law360 Insurance Editorial Advisory Board from 2012-2013.  Mastando has been featured in Law360’s Q&A series focusing on insurance litigation developments.  He is also a member of the litigation sections of the American and New York State Bar Associations.

Mastando has taught numerous programs at PLI, the ABCNY, and the New York State Judicial Institute, among other organizations.  At Weil, Mastando lectured on numerous topics, including ethics, discovery, and the enforceability of liquidated damages, and he has been a frequent instructor in deposition and evidence workshops.  Mastando was also a member of Weil’s Nominating, Hiring and Ethics Committees, and was a Summer Associate Program coordinator for many years.

From 1997-1998, Mastando clerked for the Honorable Federico A. Moreno, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where he worked on all aspects of more than 200 civil and criminal matters, including numerous jury trials.

Mastando received his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an associate editor of the Columbia Human Rights Law Review and A Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual.  Mastando graduated cum laude from Columbia College, Columbia University with a B.A. in Political Science.

Bar admissions:  United States Supreme Court;  United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit;  United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit;  United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit;  United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit;  United States District Court for the Southern District of New York;  United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York;  United States District Court for the Western District of New York; United States District Court for the District of Colorado;  New York;  New Jersey.

Education:   Columbia University School of Law, J.D.  (1996, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar);  Columbia University, Columbia College, B.A. (1993, cum laude)