• JD, University of Notre Dame, 1972 - Note & Comment Editor, Notre Dame Law Review, 1971-1972
• BS, Xavier University, 1969

Judge Lechner served as United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey for more than fifteen years, from 1986 to 2001. During his tenure as a US District Judge, he published more than 250 opinions concerning Securities, Class Action, Contract, Corporate, Intellectual Property, Product Liability and Employment law.

He sat by designation on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has briefed and argued appellate matters before the Circuit Court of Appeals, state supreme and appellate courts. Before his appointment to the Federal bench, he served for more than two years as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge from 1984 to 1986 and before that he was engaged in private practice as a trial lawyer. As a trial lawyer, he has a broad range of trial experience in complex contract, business and corporate disputes as well as in securities litigation, anti-trust litigation, intellectual property litigation and employment and disability litigation.

He has extensive trial, motion, injunction application and argument experience in the Federal and state courts around the country, as well as significant appellate experience. As a trial lawyer, he has prosecuted and defended civil actions under the federal securities laws, RICO, various state business and commercial statutes as well as a broad array of common law and statutory theories in connection with contractual, commercial and other business disputes.