Judge Bios

Ms. Zeldon was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December, 23, 1938, to Bess Cahn and J. Louis Zeldon. She was raised in the District of Columbia and graduated from Bess Murch Elementary School, Alice Deal Junior High and Woodrow Wilson High School.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Government from Smith College in 1960, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa during her junior year and won the Dawes Prize for outstanding work in American Government at the end of
her senior year. After attending graduated school at Harvard University for one semester,

Ms. Zeldon was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December, 23, 1938, to Bess Cahn and J. Louis Zeldon. She was raised in the District of Columbia and graduated from Bess Murch Elementary School, Alice Deal Junior High and Woodrow Wilson High School.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Government from Smith College in 1960, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa during her junior year and won the Dawes Prize for outstanding work in American Government at the end of
her senior year. After attending graduated school at Harvard University for one semester,
Ms. Zeldon attended George Washington University Law School, where she served on
the law review.

Upon graduation from New York University Law School in 1965, Ms. Zeldon
worked for the Columbia University Legislative Drafting Research Fund, where she helped
draft a Housing Maintenance Code for New York City. From 1967 to 1972, she worked as
an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, where she handled a wide
variety of municipal issues, with particular emphasis on litigation and labor law.
From 1972-1990, she was a member of the Labor Department of Proskauer Rose
Goetz and Mendelsohn, first in New York City and for t last twelve years in Washington,
D.C. During that time, she handled numerous cases, including Schumacher v. Aldridge 665
F. Supp. 41 (D.D.C. 1988), which caused th U.S. government to grant veteran’s status to
American Merchant Seaman who participated in oceangoing service in World War II. As a
result of this case, over 70,000 American seaman received honorable military discharges.
Ms. Zeldon’s Bar Affiliations include the American Bar Association and the District of
Columbia Bar Association.

Ms. Zeldon has received numerous awards, including honorary status as a U.S.
Merchant Marine Veteran (awarded by the federal Maritime Administration); a certificate of
Appreciation from the New York Society of Marine Port Engineers; an award from the
American Merchant Marine Veterans, headquartered in Florida; a Friendship Award for
outstanding and unselfish service from the Edna Gladden Center in Forth Worth, Texas;
and an award for making an outstanding contribution to society from the National Committee
for Adoption.

She has published numerous articles on a wide variety of subjects, including
attorneys’ fees in civil rights litigation, substance abuse in the workplace, the National Labor
Relations Act, and the recently enacted Americans with Disabilities Act. Her articles have
appeared in the Columbia Law Review, the Fordham Law Review, the New York Law
Journal and other publications that are widely circulated.

Ms. Zeldon is married to John J. McAvoy, a partner in the firm of White and Case,
and has two sons: Jason Zeldon, age sixteen, and Jon Alexander, who is twelve.