Joan G. Wexler
Dean and President Emerita
Phone
(718) 780-7900
E-Mail
joan.wexler@brooklaw.edu
Education
J.D., Yale Law School
M.A.T., Harvard University
B.S., Cornell University
Biography
Joan G. Wexler is Dean and President Emerita of Brooklyn Law School. She served as the Law School's President from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2015 and was Dean and President from 1994 until June 30, 2010. Prior to that, she was the Law School’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. She has been a member of the faculty since 1985. She previously taught at New York University School of Law, practiced as an associate with the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, and served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein of the Eastern District of New York.
President Wexler is a prominent member of the legal community. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute. She served as President of the Federal Bar Council from 2004 to 2006 and Vice-President from 2001 to 2004. She chaired the 2002 FBC Winter Bench and Bar Conference and currently sits on its Executive Committee. She also was President of the Federal Bar Foundation from 1998 to 1999. President Wexler has held leadership roles in a number of bar associations. At the Association of the Bar of the New York City, she served as Vice-President, chaired the Committee on Honors, and was a member of the Nominating, Long Range Planning, Matrimonial, and Family Court Committees. At the Women’s Bar Association, she served twice as its Vice-President and was a member of its Board of Directors. She was a member of the American Bar Association’s Independent Law Schools Forum Committee, and has served on its Continuing Legal Education, New Deans’ Seminar Planning Committees, and Data and Policy Committee. President Wexler is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation as well as the New York Bar Foundation. She has served as a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.
President Wexler is a prominent member of the legal community. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute. She served as President of the Federal Bar Council from 2004 to 2006 and Vice-President from 2001 to 2004. She chaired the 2002 FBC Winter Bench and Bar Conference and currently sits on its Executive Committee. She also was President of the Federal Bar Foundation from 1998 to 1999. President Wexler has held leadership roles in a number of bar associations. At the Association of the Bar of the New York City, she served as Vice-President, chaired the Committee on Honors, and was a member of the Nominating, Long Range Planning, Matrimonial, and Family Court Committees. At the Women’s Bar Association, she served twice as its Vice-President and was a member of its Board of Directors. She was a member of the American Bar Association’s Independent Law Schools Forum Committee, and has served on its Continuing Legal Education, New Deans’ Seminar Planning Committees, and Data and Policy Committee. President Wexler is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation as well as the New York Bar Foundation. She has served as a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.
Among her extensive professional and community activities, President Wexler has served on the Board of Directors of the Practicing Law Institute and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership. She has also served on the boards of the American Judicature Society, the American Law Deans Association, the Children’s Law Center, and the Fund for Modern Courts. President Wexler was a member of the Committee to Restore the Thurgood Marshall Landmark Courthouse, the Planning and Program Committee of the Judicial Conference of the Second Circuit, and the Judicial Conference of the State of New York. She was a member of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Online System for Clerkship Application & Review (OSCAR) Working Group and currently serves on the United States Magistrate Judge Selection Committee for the Eastern District of New York.
At Cornell University, President Wexler is a member the Cornell University Council and serves on its Admissions & Financial Aid and Public Relations Committees. She is an emerita member of the President's Council of Cornell Women and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Human Ecology. From 2004 to 2007 she was a member of the Yale Law Journal Alumni Advisory Board.
President Wexler received numerous honors for her commitment to the advancement of the interests of adolescents and their families and for her leadership in the legal community. Among her many honors are an Honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Francis College, the President’s Special Award and the Special Recognition Award from the New York Women’s Bar Association, an Outstanding Women of the Bar Honoree from the New York County Lawyers’ Association, a Special Award from the National Association of Women Judges, the Good Scout Award from the Greater Boy Scouts Council of New York, the William Shoenfeld Award from the Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, and the President’s Award from the New York State Court Officers Association.
President Wexler is a graduate of Cornell University, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Yale Law School, where she was Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal.
At Cornell University, President Wexler is a member the Cornell University Council and serves on its Admissions & Financial Aid and Public Relations Committees. She is an emerita member of the President's Council of Cornell Women and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Human Ecology. From 2004 to 2007 she was a member of the Yale Law Journal Alumni Advisory Board.
President Wexler received numerous honors for her commitment to the advancement of the interests of adolescents and their families and for her leadership in the legal community. Among her many honors are an Honorary Doctor of Laws from St. Francis College, the President’s Special Award and the Special Recognition Award from the New York Women’s Bar Association, an Outstanding Women of the Bar Honoree from the New York County Lawyers’ Association, a Special Award from the National Association of Women Judges, the Good Scout Award from the Greater Boy Scouts Council of New York, the William Shoenfeld Award from the Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, and the President’s Award from the New York State Court Officers Association.
President Wexler is a graduate of Cornell University, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Yale Law School, where she was Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal.