Jillian Weiss is Of Counsel to Outten & Golden LLP, and a member of the firm’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Workplace Rights (LGBTQ) Practice Group. Prior to joining the firm in 2019, Dr. Weiss was Executive Director of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, a Professor of Law & Society at Ramapo College, and in private law practice. She received her B.A. from Yeshiva University in 1983, her J.D. from Seton Hall University in 1986, and her Ph.D. (Law & Society) from Northeastern University in 2004. Dr. Weiss co-litigated the first transgender employment rights cases with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. She has published several law review articles on transgender legal issues, was the first transgender member of the Board of Directors of Lambda Legal, and is a member of the Committee on Labor & Employment for the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. She was the longtime Chair of the annual Transgender Law Symposium, and founding Executive Director of the National Transgender Bar Association. Dr. Weiss has also consulted with major corporations, public agencies and educational institutions regarding gender identity policies, including Harvard University, Boeing and New York City. She has received several awards for her advocacy for the LGBTQ community, including the New York State LGBT Bar Association’s Community Vision Award and the Arthur Leonard Award for Service from the LGBT Rights Committee of the New York City Bar Association.
