Mary D. Dorman, a Chelsea resident and a lawyer with an extensive practice in women’s issues and First Amendment cases, was elected last week as the female Democratic district leader in the 75th Assembly District Part A, replacing Kathy Kinsella who moved to Rhinebeck, N.Y.
Dorman, a former member of Community Board 4, which covers Chelsea and Clinton, has lived in Chelsea for 30 years and was an assistant professor of business law at Pace University for 10 years and served for 19 years as special master in Manhattan State Supreme Court.
She has represented plaintiffs in landmark cases including a 1995 sexual harassment case against the United Nations, winning a significant damage award and the establishing of a harassment-free workplace for U.N. employees. She also represented the performance artist Karen Finley against the National Endowment for the Arts, challenging the N.E.A. chairman’s veto of the agency’s awards to Finely and others for fellowships.
Dorman is former counsel to the National Campaign for Freedom of Expression and has represented civil disobedience demonstrators from ACT-UP, Women’s Action Coalition and Irish Lesbians and Gays Organization. A co-founder of Women’s Action Coalition, she is president of Feminists for Free Expression.
An arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association and a small claims arbitrator in Manhattan Civil Court, Dorman is currently on the fiduciary committee of New York State Supreme and Surrogates Courts.
She received the 1991 Uncommon Woman Award for contributions to the women’s community and the 1998 National Organization for Women/N.Y.C. Women of Power and Influence Award. In November, 2003, Dorman and her co-counsel won the honors from New York National Employment Lawyers Association for the Courageous Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers Awards.
