Professor Mertus has been teaching Legal Writing since graduating summa cum laude from Whittier Law School in 2004. She became Director of the Center for Children’s Rights in 2011. As a student, and later as a volunteer attorney, Professor Mertus worked in Whittier Law School’s Children’s Rights Clinic representing indigent clients in guardianship and adoption matters. Professor Mertus’s research interest is in the field of adoption law, and beginning in 2009 her research and scholarship has focused specifically on international adoption law and, to some extent, on the intersection of international adoption law and the rights of same-sex couples. She has presented at various national conferences and has also authored articles on topics such as second-parent adoption, baby trafficking, and the international adoption aspects of formation of families in the LGBT community.

Professor Mertus has also taught International Adoption Law and International Children’s Rights through Whittier’s summer abroad program in Nanjing, China in cooperation with the prestigious Nanjing University Law School. Beginning in 2009, she has served as the Director of the China summer abroad program.

Professor Mertus has served as a faculty advisor and coach for Whittier’s Moot Court Honors Board (MCHB) since beginning her career at Whittier. Over the years, she has coached teams in preparation for many national and international competitions and experienced great satisfaction in receiving both team and individual accolades for members of the MCHB.

In her Legal Writing classes, Professor Mertus uses real world examples and a skills-based approach to lay a foundation for her students to learn and improve their legal writing skills. She is a member of the National Association of Counsel for Children, the Legal Writing Institute, and the Orange County Bar Association. In addition, she is admitted to practice in the state of California.

Publications

Articles

• Looking to the Future: Removal of Categorical Bans in Intercountry Adoption, (invited symposium edition contribution), Southwestern Journal of International Law (work in progress).

• Human Trafficking and Intercountry Adoption: How the Chinese System Incentives Baby Buying, (invited symposium edition contribution), Whittier Law Review (work in progess).

• Barriers. Hurdles, and Discrimination: LGBT Intercountry Adoption and Why Changes Must Be Made to Effectuate the Best Interests of the Child, 39 Cap. U. L. Rev. 271 (2011).

• In re Adoption of R.B.F.: A Step Toward the Recognition and Acceptance of Non-Traditional Families, 3 Whittier Journal of Child and Family Advocacy 171 (2003).

Editorials and Commentaries

• THE LOS ANGELES DAILY JOURNAL published op-ed, Adoption Procedure Flaws Exposed, on September 17, 2009.

• Looking to the Future: Removal of Categorical Bans in Intercountry Adoption, Invited Presenter, The Future of Children in International Law Symposium, Southwestern Law School’s Journal of International Law, (forthcoming) February 2013.

• Child Trafficking and Intercountry Adoption: How the Chinese System Incentivizes Baby Buying, Invited Presenter. Human Trafficking: Modern Slavery, Whittier Law School Law Review Symposium, November 2, 2012.

• Intercountry Adoption: The Present and Future of LGBT Intercountry Adoption, Future of Adoption in America Symposium, American Academy of Adoption Attorneys Mid-year Conference, October 18, 2012.

• The Status of LGBT Intercountry Adoption, Work in Progress Series, Whittier Law School, April 28, 2011.

• Overcoming Barriers to LGBT Intercountry Adoption, Invited Presenter, Wells Adoption Law Conference, Capital University Law School, March 2010.