Around the globe, red tape, budget cuts, and falling public trust eroded civil servants’ engagement with their work. Yet the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) was one public organisation to have seemingly escaped the trends of disengagement. Drawing on the observations and insights of several former SDNY prosecutors, this Case Centre note explores the maverick practices and norms contributing to the SDNY’s apparent success as a public-service organisation.