Before taking her seat on the Southern District, Scheindlin worked as a prosecutor, commercial lawyer, and judge.

Starting in 1982, and continuing through 1984, she served as special master in the Agent Orange mass tort litigation.

Scheindlin was nominated by President Bill Clinton on July 28, 1994, to a seat vacated by Louis Freeh (who went on to be the director of the FBI).

Scheindlin's decisions in Zubulake v. UBS Warburg were "so influential [the rulings were] partially absorbed into the recent civil procedure amendments [in 2006].

[7] During her tenure, Scheindlin presided over a number of high-profile cases, many of which advanced important new positions in the interpretation of the United States Constitution or federal law.

Her father, Boris M. Joffe, was the executive director of the Detroit Jewish Community Council.