Ira Mark Lechner (born May 4, 1934) is an American lawyer, government official, civic activist, and Democratic politician who represented Arlington and Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly for four years.
[4] Lechner served as an appellate attorney in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, the Appellate Division of the National Labor Relations Board, and on the staff of the Employment and Productivity Subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
He then practiced law as a solo practitioner or in partnerships in Washington, D.C., and Virginia for more than four decades, specializing in civil rights and labor cases, including on behalf of federal employees.
His family foundation supports sustainable development in South Africa, and he also served on the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
In 2008 Lechner organized a fundraising committee for then Illinois senator Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, and from 2008 until 2014 served as chairman of the board of trustees of the Council for a Livable World, succeeding former U.S.