Fern Schair

Directed and expanded New York City Bar. Cofounded Children’s Law Center. Chaired Legal Services NYC. Cochaired New York’s Committee on Women in the Courts.

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Person details

Where most active professionally:	New York
Law type:	Civil
Lists:	In Memoriam
Source:	CNEJL
Date deceased:	Jan 30, 2023

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New York City Bar

January 30, 2023
In Memoriam: Fern Schair

Fern Schair, who was the chief executive of the New York City Bar Association from 1982 to 1997, passed away on Thursday after a long illness.

Fern began her career as a civil legal services attorney, advocating to keep people in their homes. Among her many accomplishments, she led efforts to improve the courts at the Fund for Modern Courts; co-founded the Children’s Law Center, which created a national model for representing children involved with the child welfare system; served as chair of Legal Services NYC; was founding chair of the advisory board of the Feerick Center for Social Justice; and co-chaired New York’s Committee on Women in the Courts.

As Executive Secretary (the position now called Executive Director) of the City Bar, Fern is remembered as instrumental in spurring the growth of the association, increasing the diversity of its membership and simplifying the membership process, expanding the number and size of committees, and launching the Association’s pro bono efforts through the Robert B. McKay Community Outreach Law Program, which became the City Bar Justice Center.

In “Making Sure We Are True to Our Founders,” the history of the City Bar from 1970 – 1995, the author writes, “Virtually everyone who has worked with Schair lauds her enthusiasm, vitality, and people skills. Some examples: The first president to serve a full term with Schair, Louis Craco, speaks of her sense of humor, her ability as quick study, and her ability to manage her many different roles. Cyrus Vance has spoken of his ‘joy’ to have worked with her, ‘without whose wisdom and matchless skills this Association could not have reached and maintained its remarkable level of achievement and service to the legal community and beyond.’ Robert Kaufman refers to her ‘great talent, wisdom, judgment, perception and tact,’ Conrad Harper, to her ‘quick and infectious sense of humor, her remarkable powers of analysis,’ and ‘her perspicuity wrapped in humor.’ Still another president said, ‘Fern is the organization.’”

Fern Schair was the first woman to serve as chief executive of the City Bar, and the first woman to be honored with the Association Medal, in 1997, for “exceptional contributions to the honor and standing of the bar in this community.”

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Feerick Center for Social Justice at Fordham University

January 27, 2023

The Feerick Center for Social Justice community mourns the passing of our beloved Advisory Board founding chair, Fern Schair. We extend our deepest condolences to her cherished family.
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Fern was, first and foremost, a rare quiet crusader. She was deeply and passionately committed to improving the law as a profession and to enhancing access to justice for vulnerable people and those marginalized by society. Fern brought to life, reinvigorated, and transformed the many institutions to which she committed her professional life. She did so through her singular brilliance, discretion, patience, humor, tenacity, and a deep warmth.

Fern’s accomplishments are extraordinary in scope and impact. We highlight below several that stood out over the course of her life in the law:

• She began her career as a civil legal services attorney and advocated to keep people in their homes;

She led efforts to improve the courts at the Fund for Modern Courts;

She served as the first woman Chief Administrative Office of the New York City Bar and was the first woman to receive its highest honor, the President’s Medal;

She co-founded the Children’s Law Center, along with Judge Carol Sherman, helping to create a national model for representing children involved with the child welfare system;

She served as chair of Legal Services NYC, the nation’s largest federally-funded civil legal services organization in the country;

She co-chaired New York’s Committee of Women in the Courts–along with Judge Betty Ellerin–which put out groundbreaking recommendations for advancing gender equity;

She was a most passionate advocate for language access and worked closely with court partners to push for necessary reforms; and

She co-led pioneering work, along with Roger Maldonado, to establish a court-sponsored program that leveraged non-lawyers to improve access to justice for unrepresented people.

We could not have been more fortunate to have Fern at the heart of all that we did even before the Center’s launch. As founding chair of the Feerick Center’s Advisory Board her devotion of time, wisdom, and expertise was boundless. So much of what the Center accomplished and became can be attributed to Fern and her unwavering commitment to our work and mission. We are especially grateful to her for her dedication to senior lawyer pro bono through the New York State Attorney Emeritus Program.

Fern promoted and believed deeply in what was most honorable about the legal profession, including defending the rule of law and service to society through pro bono work. The world is truly a better place because of Fern. Those who had the honor, great fortune, privilege and joy to work with her are all enriched by what she modeled every day.

She will be missed without measure as a humanitarian, leader in the profession, court reformer, mentor, role model, and friend.

John D. Feerick Founder & Senior Counsel
Elizabeth B. Cooper, Faculty Director
Dora Galacatos Executive Director