Biographical Sketch

of

MARC D. STERN

Marc D. Stern, Associate General Counsel for Legal Advocacy of the American Jewish Committee, is one of the most respected lawyers in the United States on church-state and religious liberty issues. He is consulted widely by numerous Jewish and non-Jewish organizations interested in maintaining the separation of church and state, and is interviewed often by the broadcast and print media. His legal expertise has been instrumental in helping the Jewish community successfully resist attempts to weaken First Amendment protections. Mr. Stern has been named one of the “Forward Fifty” most influential leaders of the American Jewish community.

Prior to joining AJC, Mr. Stern was Acting Co-Executive Director and General Counsel of the American Jewish Congress and Director of its Commission on Law, Social Justice and Intergroup Relations. Prior to joining AJCongress in 1977, Mr. Stern was a law clerk to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He received his undergraduate education at Yeshiva University, graduating summa cum laude. He received his legal education at the Columbia University School of Law, where he was Managing Editor of the Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems. He graduated with honors in 1976.

At AJC Mr. Stern prepares briefs and conducts litigation on issues of interest to the Jewish organization, chiefly in the areas of church-state, religious liberty and civil rights and liberties; advises attorneys handling church-state matters; drafts legislation and preparation of testimony for Congress and state legislatures; prepares opinion letters on pending legislation or administrative matters. He also is involved in AJC’s activities in regard to whether the law of war has kept up with developments with irregular warfare.

He has taken the lead role in coalitions which have produced guidelines utilized by the Clinton Administration to clarify contentious church-state issues in American society today. These guidelines include Religion in the Public Schools; Religion in the Federal Workplace; and Public Schools and Religious Communities: A First Amendment Guide.

Mr. Stern has written numerous briefs, monographs, legislative testimony and articles on a variety of civil rights and civil liberties issues, including Jews and Public Morality in Tikkun Olam: Social Responsibility in Jewish Law and Thought; and Anti-Semitism and the Law in Anti-Semitism in America Today.