Biographical Sketch
Professor Meier is a nationally recognized expert on domestic violence and the law and clinical law teaching. In her more than 15 years at GW, she has founded three interdisciplinary domestic violence clinical programs, two of which provided legal representation, advocacy, and counseling to victims of domestic violence and have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice as leading national models. In addition to her years of litigation and teaching, Professor Meier has co-authored several significant pieces of federal and state legislation, and frequently delivers public presentations to attorneys, judges, and other professional organizations. She has published widely on domestic violence, and received the Cahn Award from the National Equal Justice Library for her article on domestic violence and welfare reform. Her most recent article addresses custody litigation involving domestic violence.

In 2003 Professor Meier founded the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment and Appeals Project (DV LEAP), which provides pro bono appellate representation in compelling domestic violence cases, including Supreme Court cases, and trains attorneys and courts around the country. DV LEAP spearheaded the domestic violence amicus briefs in several Supreme Court cases, including Giles v. California (2008), and Hammon v. Indiana (2006), both concerning constitutional constraints on criminal prosecutions of domestic violence. In 2007, Professor Meier won a Leadership Award from Justice for Children, for her work with DV LEAP on custody and abuse; and in 2009, the inaugural Sharon Corbitt Award from the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence. DV LEAP was also awarded the Mary Byron Foundation Celebrating Solutions Award in 2006, and a Leadership Award from the Washington Area Women's Foundation in 2009.

Professor Meier was one of the featured commentators in the groundbreaking PBS documentary, “Breaking the Silence: Children’s Voices.” She previously practiced in two national law firms and in public interest organizations providing legal services and freedom of information litigation. She has received several awards and fellowships for her public interest and domestic violence work. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1980, cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 1983, and clerked on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

At the Law School, Professor Meier teaches the Domestic Violence Project, a clinical course in which students work with community organizations on domestic violence legal advocacy. She has also taught criminal law and family law at GW and as a visiting professor at Washington & Lee. Her research and publications focus on domestic violence, criminal procedure and civil rights, and child custody.

Education
B.A., Harvard University; J.D., University of Chicago

Current Semester Courses
Domestic Violence Project; Outside Placement