Carolyn Lerner was appointed Chief Circuit Mediator for the federal courts of the D.C. Circuit in 2017. Previously, she served as the Senate-confirmed head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) from 2011-2017. OSC is an independent agency that protects whistleblowers and enforces the Hatch Act, as well as the laws prohibiting discrimination against federal employees. Ms. Lerner frequently testified before Congress on oversight investigations and good government initiatives.

Ms. Lerner is an adjunct professor of mediation at Georgetown University Law Center, and previously taught at George Washington University Law School. During her term as Special Counsel, Ms. Lerner established a mediation program that has been recognized as the “gold standard” for alternative dispute resolution programs in the federal government. She has created alternative dispute resolution programs and trained mediators for government agencies and non-profits.

Prior to her government service, Ms. Lerner was a founding partner of the civil rights and employment law firm Heller, Huron, Chertkof, Lerner, Simon & Salzman. While in private practice, Ms. Lerner served as a Special Master for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in a sexual harassment and retaliation class action.

Ms. Lerner earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Honors College at the University of Michigan and her J.D. from New York University Law School, where she was a Root-Tilden public interest scholar. After law school, Ms. Lerner clerked for Chief Judge Julian Cook, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.