BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION FOR CAROLYN LERNER
Carolyn Lerner is a founding partner of the Washington, D.C. civil rights and employment law
firm Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman. She represents individuals in
discrimination and employment matters, as well as non-profit organizations on a wide variety of
issues. She previously served as the federal court appointed monitor of the consent decree in
Neal v. D.C. Department of Corrections, a sexual harassment and retaliation class action.
Ms. Lerner teaches mediation as an adjunct professor at George Washington University School
of Law, and is a mediator for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the D.C.
Human Relations Commission. Ms. Lerner is in Best Lawyers in America with a specialty of
civil rights law and is one of Washingtonian Magazine’s top employment lawyers.
Ms. Lerner is an active volunteer with several organizations. She is the board chair for the
Center for WorkLife Law, and serves on the national board of advisors for the WAGE Project.
She is a former president and current board member of the Washington Council of Lawyers, a
board member of the Council for Court Excellence, and an appointed member of the D.C. Bar’s
Pro Bono Committee.
Ms. Lerner received her J.D. from New York University (NYU) School of Law, where she was a
Root-Tilden-Snow public interest scholar. She earned her undergraduate degree from the
University of Michigan, with highest honors, and a diploma in General Studies from the London
School of Economics. Ms. Lerner served as a law clerk to the Hon. Julian Abele Cook, Jr., Chief
U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Ms. Lerner was born in Detroit, Michigan, and now lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with her
husband and two children.
