Carol Robles-Román, a brainy and determined lawyer from a Puerto Rican family who as a top official in Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s administration made New York City’s legal system more accessible, died Sunday at a Westchester hospital. She was 60.

The cause was lung cancer, said her sister Frances Robles.

Robles-Román, who was raised in Brooklyn and Queens, served for more than a decade as Bloomberg’s deputy mayor for legal affairs and counsel, a role in which she oversaw more than a dozen agencies and helped launch the city’s Family Justice Centers, which provide free services for victims of domestic violence.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg (at podium) and Deputy Mayor Carol Robles-Román (right) are pictured in the Blue Room at City Hall on July 22, 2008.

She also played a key role in digitizing aspects of the court system, aggressively advanced Spanish language access to city services and took a keen interest in fighting human trafficking in the city.

Friends and former colleagues recalled her as a principled, perfectionistic and passionate advocate for everyday New Yorkers.

In a statement, Bloomberg described her as a “champion of equality and justice” who “dedicated her life to public service and to making our city and country more equal and just.”

“For twelve years we sat across from each other in City Hall, and her legal guidance was instrumental in advancing our agenda across a broad range of issues,” Bloomberg added. “To lose her at still such a young age is a terrible tragedy.”

Mayor Adams also issued a tribute, describing Robles-Román as a “compassionate and outspoken leader” who blazed a trail as a high-ranking Latina in city government.

“New York City joins her family and loved ones in mourning today,” Adams said in his statement.

Anthony Crowell, who served as counselor to Bloomberg, described Robles-Román as “meticulous” and “caring,” adding that she had a “transformative” imprint on city government programs.

“She brought incredible intelligence and heart,” said Crowell, now dean of New York Law School. “She was incredibly successful, and really gave her life to the city. She cared about public service. She cared about people.”

Robles-Román, the third of six children, was born Aug. 27, 1962, in East New York, Brooklyn, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents who ran a travel agency and insurance brokerage.

When she was about 10, the family relocated to Howard Beach, Queens. After high school, her education continued within city limits: She studied at Fordham University and then at NYU Law School, completing her legal education in 1989.

For most of the 1990s, Robles-Román worked as counsel to Judge Jonathan Lippman when he was a top state court administrator. (In 2009, Lippman became chief judge of the State of New York.)

Lippman described Robles-Román as a “problem solver” with a knack for cutting through tough issues.

“She was a real force in the court system,” Lippman recalled. “She was principled and determined. When she thought something was right, she had a sticktoitiveness, the determination to follow through.”

In 2002, Robles-Román joined Bloomberg’s administration, serving for his entire three-term tenure.

After the Bloomberg years, she led the Women’s Legal Defense Fund and, in recent years, served as general counsel and dean of faculty at Hunter College.

She focused heavily on women’s rights in the legal system.

“We need to have the public and the private sectors working hand-in-hand to address gender equity,” she once told Leaders Magazine.

Robles-Román is survived by her husband, Nelson S. Román, a federal court judge, and their two children. A funeral is scheduled for Thursday in the Bronx.

“Carol was a pioneering public servant,” said a joint statement from the City University of New York’s chancellor, Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, and board chair, Bill Thompson. “We are mourning her loss, but we must resolve to do all we can to honor her legacy.”