Jennifer M. Selendy

Jennifer Selendy is a founding partner of Selendy Gay Elsberg, a New York-based litigation firm devoted to the most challenging commercial disputes, investigations, and public interest cases.  Jennifer received her M.Phil in International Relations from St. Antony’s in 1992 as a Marshall Scholar and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1995.

Jennifer served as Managing Partner of Selendy Gay Elsberg during its first four years. Her leadership has been recognized by Corporate Counsel, which named her 2020’s “Managing Partner of the Year” and the New York Law Journal, which lists her among law’s “Distinguished Leaders.”  

A seasoned trial and appellate lawyer, Jennifer represents plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes litigation and is frequently tapped for sensitive internal and governmental investigations into antitrust, financial misconduct, and employment-related matters. She maintains an active public interest practice focusing on poverty, women’s rights, climate change, and education.

Following the Taliban reoccupation of Afghanistan in 2021, Jennifer helped launch a project that was later named The Thirty Birds Foundation, focused on the evacuation of hundreds of at-risk girls and community members affiliated with the Marefat High School in Kabul. To date, some 250 girls—all members of an ethnic minority group called Hazara—have arrived in Saskatoon, Canada, and are in the process of being resettled. Another 150 are currently awaiting evacuation from Pakistan to Canada.

For nearly a decade, she has served as board chairman for the National Center for Law & Economic Justice. Jennifer is also the co-founder and board chairman of The Speyer Legacy School, an independent K-8 school for gifted children that focuses on identifying and educating low-income, high-achieving children in New York City. She serves as Vice Chair of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University, which works to cultivate and empower the ethical leaders of tomorrow.  Jennifer received her B.A. in International Relations from Tufts in 1990.