Merritt McAlister

Merritt McAlister (born 1979/1980) is a litigator who serves as the University of Florida law school’s interim dean. McAlister was previously an assistant professor of law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
==Early life and education==
McAlister earned her Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in English and Women's Studies from Rice University in 2002 and her Juris Doctor summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2007 where she served as Executive Articles Editor of the Georgia Law Review.. McAlister was a law clerk to Judge R. Lanier Anderson III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit between 2007 - 2008 and Justice John Paul Stevens of the Supreme Court of the United States from 2009 - 2010. 
==Career==
In 2008, McAlister became an Associate at King & Spalding LLP until 2009, joining the firm again in 2010 and becoming law partner in 2015. In 2018 McAlister became an assistant professor of law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
McAlister has advocated for expanding the number of judges on the Federal Appellate Courts stating that adding more seats is overdue along with other reforms to the current system of determining judicial need. In 2018, McAlister was one of more than 2,400 law professors that signed a letter stating that then United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judge Brett Kavanaugh "did not display the impartiality and judicial temperament requisite to sit on the highest court of our land." McAlister has also written about the Supreme Court of the United States decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization stating "The significance of the ruling for Florida is that the state could potentially go even further than the 15-week ban and outlaw most abortions entirely. It means that the Constitution doesn’t protect the right to an abortion. McAlister has also written about the federal courts becoming increasingly politicized. On June 1, 2023, McAlister begin to serve as the University of Florida law school’s interim dean. 
Since the start of President Joe Biden's administration, McAlister has been considered a potential nominee for a federal judgeship.
==Notable cases==
In 2014, McAlister was part of the legal team representing the New York State Conference of the NAACP, the Hispanic Federation and others in a case involving New York's Sugary drinks portion cap rule. The law, also known as the soda ban, was a proposed limit on soft drink size in New York City intended to prohibit the sale of many sweetened drinks more than 16 fluid ounces (0.47 liters) in volume to have taken effect on March 12, 2013. On June 26, 2014, the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the New York City Board of Health, in adopting the regulation, exceeded the scale of its regulatory authority and as such, was repealed. The repealed regulation was codified in section 81.53 of the New York City Health Code (title 24 of the Rules of the City of New York).
In 2016, McAlister was part of the legal team representing Lambda Legal, who filed a brief in the Georgia Court of Appeals on behalf of Andrew Baumert. Baumert is a transgender man whose petition to legally change his name. A trial court denied him the name change and also denied a similar name change request for Rowan Feldhaus earlier in the year. 
In 2017, McAlister was part of the legal team that represented former Florida State University (FSU) finance professor Dr. James Doran. Doran was found guilty of embezzling $650,000 from a student investment fund. Doran argued he was acting as a fiscal agent of the non-profit fund and not as an FSU employee handling any federal funds and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned that guilty verdict. 
==Personal life==
McAlister came out as LGBT during her freshman year at Rice University and started a campus-wide support group for gay women.
McAlister has been a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2017, served on the board of Planned Parenthood Southeast and is a member of the University of Georgia Law School Association Council. She was previously president of the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia and served as the co-chair of the Alumni Advisory Council for The Paideia School.
Category:Rice University alumni
Category:University of Georgia School of Law alumni
Category:Litigators
Category:Professors