She received her J.D. from Stanford Law School. From 1986 until 1990, she worked for the Mental Health Law Project, which is now called the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. A professor of law at the University of Miami Law School from 1990 until 2001, she taught mental health and disability law. Ms. Stefan is the author of Unequal Rights: Discrimination Against People With Mental Disabilities and the Americans With Disabilities Act and Hollow Promises: Employment Discrimination Against People With Mental Disabilities, as well as numerous law review articles. She has litigated a number of ADA cases, including Ellen S. v. Florida Board of Bar Examiners, 859 F. Supp. 1489 (S.D. Fla. 1994) and Doe v. Stincer, 990 F. Supp, 1427 (S.D. Fla. 1997), vacated by Doe v. Stincer, 175 F.3d 879 (11th Cir. 1999).