October 12, 2012

Law student named Volunteer of the Year for his victims’ rights work

Matthew Merryman selected as volunteer of the year by the National Crime Victims Law Institute

Matthew Merryman received the Volunteer of the Year Award in honor of his efforts to protect, enforce, and advance victim’s rights. Merryman was honored at the annual conference of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI) based at Lewis & Clark Law School.

A third-year law student, Merryman has extensive experience and interest in criminal law. 

Merryman became interested in victims’ rights while working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with children of separated parents. He is a trained victims’ advocate, and he was an intern with NCVLI during the 2011-12 academic year. After graduation, he plans to move back to his native Kansas City to work with the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of Missouri. 

NCVLI is a national nonprofit legal advocacy organization whose mission is to actively promote balance and fairness in the justice system through crime victim centered legal advocacy, education, and resource sharing. The organization was conceived in 1997 by Professor of Law Doug Beloof to be a national resource for crime victim practitioners and victims to support the assertion and enforcement of victims’ rights in criminal and civil processes. 

Learn more about Lewis & Clark Law School’s clinics.

 

Blue Lassiter ’15 contributed to this story.