Schafran, Lynn Hecht

Feminist lawyer and educator, Lynn Hecht Schafran was born October 11, 1941, in New York City to Geraldine (Schaeffer) and David K. Hecht. She studied art history at Smith College (B.A. 1962) and Columbia University (M.A. 1965), and later attended law school at Columbia (J.D. 1974), where she worked as a research assistant to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. From 1979 to 1981, Schafran was national director of the Federation of Women Lawyers Judicial Screening Panel. She has been director of Legal Momentum's National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts (NJEP) since 1981, and is also Senior Vice President of Legal Momentum.

Schafran was vice-chairperson (1978-1982) and special counsel (1982-1993) to the New York City Commission on the Status of Women. She was a member of the New York State Banking Board (1983-1995), the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Committee on Sex and Law, and was an original member of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession (1987-1994). She was appointed to the Defense Department's Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (1993-1996). She is the author of several model judicial education curricula, as well as numerous articles on gender bias in the courts and the legal profession. She has received numerous awards for her work to eliminate gender bias in the courts and the profession, including the Smith College medal (1992). Schafran was the first woman to be awarded the American Law Institute-American Bar Association Francis Rawle Award for outstanding achievement in post-admission legal education. She is married to Lawrence G. Schafran; they have 2 children.