She received her BS in mechanical engineering (magna cum laude) and JD (Order of the Coif) from the Universityof Southern Californiaand her MS in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an inactive member of the California Bar and an active member of the D.C. Bar. Professor Schaffner worked at the law firm of Irell & Manella in Los Angeles California and clerked for the Honourable Marianna Pfaelzer in the Central District of California before coming to GW Law. Professor Schaffner teaches Civil Procedure, Remedies, Sexuality and the Law, and a seminar on Animal Protection Law. She is the faculty advisor to Lambda Law, the GLBT student organisation at GW, and is faculty adviser and editor-in-chief of the American Intellectual Property Law Association Quarterly Journal.