Shira A. Scheindlin

Appointed to the federal bench by former President Bill Clinton, the Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin served as a United States District Judge in the Southern District of New York for 22 years. Additionally, she sat by designation on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits.

Throughout her more than two decades on the federal bench, Judge Scheindlin oversaw a wide range of high-profile matters relating to criminal law, financial services and securities laws, electronic discovery, civil rights and more. Earlier in her career, she served as Chief Administrative U.S. Attorney and Deputy Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. She was also general counsel of the New York City Department of Investigations and a Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District.

Since leaving the bench in May 2016, Judge Scheindlin has overseen many mediations and arbitrations, and served as a court-appointed special master, mock trial judge, and expert witness. She is the Immediate Past Co-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Judge Scheindlin is currently Of Counsel at Boies Schiller Flexner. 

A native of Washington, D.C. Judge Scheindlin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Far Eastern studies from the University of Michigan (1967), a Master of Arts in history from Columbia University (1969), and a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School (1975).