Lee Merritt

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Lee Merritt (born Stacy Sylvester Lee Merritt on February 1, 1983) is an American civil rights lawyer and activist focused on racial justice. He was born in Los Angeles and spent part of his youth in north Florida before building a national practice from Philadelphia.

Education and early career
Merritt graduated cum laude from Morehouse College and earned his law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2012, where he took part in the trial advocacy program. After college, he taught in Camden, New Jersey through Teach for America. He then worked at The Cochran Firm in Philadelphia and at McEldrew Young before starting his own firm, Merritt Law Firm. His practice concentrates on police brutality, official corruption, discrimination, and hate crimes, and he takes on cases across the country.

Notable cases and public work
Merritt has represented families in several high-profile cases, including Deandre Harris, who was attacked after a Charlottesville rally in 2017; Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old shot by a police officer in Balch Springs, Texas, in 2017; Atatiana Jefferson, who was killed in her Fort Worth home in 2019; and Ahmaud Arbery, who was murdered while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, in 2020. He also represented Marlin Gipson after a wrongful arrest incident. He has spoken on issues of mass incarceration and, alongside the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, worked to bring attention to racial bias in policing and society. Merritt has appeared on television to advocate for these causes and, with Arbery’s family lawyers, discussed potential actions at the United Nations.

Politics
On March 20, 2021, Merritt announced he would run for Texas attorney general, arguing that Texas needed an attorney general who would protect the constitutional rights of all citizens. He suspended his campaign on March 10, 2022, and endorsed Democrat Rochelle Garza, who later lost the election.

Recognition
In 2017, The Root ranked him No. 8 on its list of the 100 most influential African Americans under 45, noting his rising leadership in the fight for racial justice.