• 60th Anniversary
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta After Dark
    • Atlanta 500
    • Groundbreakers
    • Women Making a Mark
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • See
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Events
      • Upcoming Events
      • Past Events
        • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
        • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
        • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
        • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
        • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
        • Best Burger Battle
        • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
        • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
      • Event Photos
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Sign up
Welcome!Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Atlanta 500
  • Give Atlanta
  • Georgia Design Awards 2022
  • Atlanta Summer Guide 2022
  • GaBiz Magazine
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Create an account
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Create an account
Welcome! Register for an account
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
Atlanta Magazine Atlanta Magazine
  • 60th Anniversary
  • News & Culture
    • Arts & Events
    • Great Reads
    • Atlanta After Dark
    • Atlanta 500
    • Groundbreakers
    • Women Making a Mark
  • Food & Drink
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • 50 Best Tacos
    • 123 Things to Eat on Buford Highway
    • 75 Best Restaurants in Atlanta
    • 50 Best Bars
    • Best Barbecue
    • Best Breakfast
  • Home
    • Artists & Galleries
    • Design Advice
    • Design News
    • Gardens
    • Real Estate
    • Neighborhoods
    • Real Estate All-Stars
    • Sponsored: Preferred HOME Partner
  • Life & Style
    • Style
    • School Guide
    • Health & Wellness
    • Top Doctors
    • Top Dentists
    • Sponsored: Physician & Dentist Profiles
    • Buckhead Guidebook
  • Travel
    • Southbound
    • 50 Best Things to Do in Georgia
    • Hidden Georgia
    • North Georgia Mountains
    • Great Georgia Hikes
    • Jekyll Island
    • Georgia Travel Guide
  • Best of ATL
    • Eat
    • Drink
    • See
    • Do
    • Buy
    • Readers’ Choice
  • Magazine
    • Subscription Center
    • Newsletters
    • Digital Editions
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Pitch Us
    • Advertise
    • Custom Media
    • Give Atlanta
    • Events
      • Upcoming Events
      • Past Events
        • 2020 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Designer Showhouse
        • Atlanta Baby and Beyond
        • Atlanta Magazine Whiskey Festival 2019
        • DINES: A Taste of the City’s Best Restaurants
        • 2019 Modern Style Showhome
        • Best Burger Battle
        • Pinewood Forest Idea Home
        • 2018 Modern Style Showhouses
      • Event Photos
    • Employment
      • Careers
      • Internships
    • Archives
    • Where to Find
Home Women Making A Mark Merritt McAlister
Custom Publication

Merritt McAlister

This lawyer fights discrimination head-on
By
Stephanie Smith
-
June 4, 2015
1654

WMM_Merritt-McAlister_webIn her teenage years at Paideia School in Druid Hills, Merritt McAlister was the only female lawyer in the Mock Trial Club. “I used to love tearing apart witnesses—I was a little aggressive,” she admits of her first foray into the legal world. “That’s not the kind of practice I have now.”

Not in the least. These days, she’s a thirty-five-year-old partner in national appellate and strategic counseling at King & Spalding, a premier Atlanta law firm. It’s a title she garnered after only seven years, the earliest you can be considered for partner. Instead of interrogating defendants, the former Supreme Court law clerk spends her days appealing cases that oftentimes advance the civil rights of abused prisoners, the LGBT community, or discriminated employees. She also takes on pro bono cases and mentors minority junior lawyers.

“I’ve always been a bit of an activist,” says McAlister, who “came out” during her freshman year at Rice University and launched a campus-wide support group for gay women. “That activism has morphed into my professional life, too.” She’s now president of the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, a statewide legal coalition of professionals who support the rights of LGBT people. “Atlanta has come a long way,” she says. “We’re working to help colleagues in less accepting parts of Georgia who still have to hide their sexual orientation.”

Words of Wisdom

Advertisement
  • TAGS
  • King & Spalding
  • Merritt McAlister
  • Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia
  • Women Making A Mark
  • Women Making A Mark 2015
Kelundra Smith

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Custom Publication

Alexandria Wilson

Custom Publication

Kathy Schwaig

Custom Publication

Sharon Story

Follow Us

67,614FansLike
126,739FollowersFollow
493,957FollowersFollow
Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

Popular posts

30,000-square-foot “eatertainment” venue Your 3rd Spot to open at the Works in June

March 14, 2022
Sponsored

3 Tarot Card Reading Services To Discover Your Destiny & Purpose

August 20, 2021
What to get at Buc-ee's in Georgia

10 Things You Shouldn’t Miss at Buc-ee’s

September 3, 2021

GREAT READS

Unhoused Atlanta

As Atlanta continues to grow, unhoused people are finding a new voice—and new allies

April 12, 2022
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens

The New Mayor: Andre Dickens comes to the job calculating and confident

April 1, 2022
Atlanta Asian Spa Shooting One Year Anniversary

One year later, 7 Asian American community members reflect on the Atlanta spa shootings

March 16, 2022
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletters
  • Issue Archive
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Business Forum
  • Privacy and Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • General Contest Rules
© 2022. All rights reserved.