Class of 2008-09

Profile:

Meredith graduated from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 2004, and was recognized by the Wyoming State Bar Association as the Pro Bono Student Lawyer of the year.  She also received an award as the Outstanding Clinical Student of the year.  During her third year of law school, Meredith was the Student Director of the University of Wyoming Legal Services Program, where she provided civil legal services to low-income individuals and argued a case regarding education rights before the Wyoming Supreme Court.  After law school, Meredith worked for the Human Services Division of the Office of the Wyoming Attorney General for three years.  She primarily represented the Wyoming Department of Health, which included advising the Department on legal issues, writing legal opinions and memorandums, reviewing contracts, and representing the Department in court and administrative hearings.  In addition, she gained further trial experience by volunteering to help other departments and divisions with cases on issues such as terminations of parental rights, state tort defense, and license revocations.  Meredith received her LL.M. degree in Global Health Law from Georgetown University Law Center.

Through her work with the legal and litigation department at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Meredith helped prepare a legal response for the possibility of a very restrictive ban on reproductive health services via a state-level referendum.  Meredith was intensively involved in researching the relevant legal issues and meeting with many attorneys working on the issue, as well as obtaining testimonials from women who opposed such bans based upon their personal experiences.  Meredith was also responsible for overseeing the legal and litigation department’s submissions to PPFA’s “Now What” newsletter, which is sent to affiliates, other offices, and organizations.  For the newsletter, Meredith worked with her colleagues to prepare concise overviews of any news stories on interesting cases involving reproductive rights and education.  Meredith was also given the responsibility of detailing her office’s activities for PPFA’s end of year wrap up book.  In December, the Department of Health and Human Services published the final rule on “Ensuring that Department of HHS Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law.”  PPFA had previously submitted comments on the HHS proposed rule in September, Meredith and her colleagues were waiting to see if the final rule incorporated any of the suggested changes or comments.  Meredith researched various issues relating to potential harm to PPFA and its affiliates that may have been caused by the rule, as well as how the rule addresses other matters.  More recently, Meredith conducted research into President Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice David Souter this summer.  Meredith attended a presentation in May sponsored by the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law by Professor Rebecca Cook, a Georgetown Law alumna who serves as Co-Director of the International Programme on Reproductive and Sexual Health Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto.  Professor Cook presented a draft commentary on women’s health rights addressed in Article 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).  Meredith also volunteered to help with the National Partnership for Women and Families Annual Luncheon in June featuring Valerie Jarrett, who was appointed by President Obama to Chair the first-ever White House Council on Women and Girls. 

Meredith recently accepted a position as a policy advisor for the governor of Wyoming.