Merritt Gardiner: Research in Entertainment Law Takes her to the Grammys.

Merritt Gardiner productively used her winter break last year to write a paper for an entertainment law competition. Her paper, which analyzes the Music Online Competition Act of 2001, was one of five papers selected from a pool of over 250 entries. The Entertainment Law Initiative Scholarship program, cosponsored by the National Recording Academy and the American Bar Association, awarded Merritt and the other finalists $1,500 scholarships and flew them to Los Angeles to attend various Grammy-related, music industry events and to present their papers to an audience of approximately 400 entertainment attorneys. "It gave us the opportunity to network with some of the top people in entertainment and sports law. We all made great contacts."

Since returning from the Grammys, Merritt's new contacts have already generated other opportunities. In the spring, her paper was published in the DePaul-LCA Journal of Art and Entertainment Law and she was invited to be a panelist at the annual meeting of the Florida Bar's Entertainment and Sports Law Section. Over the summer, Merritt was a summer associate at Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, where she conducted legal research and writing in several areas of the law related to art and entertainment, including copyright, trademark, tax and contract law.

Originally from Maryland, Merritt started law school immediately after earning her B.S. in Mass Communications from Towson University. Her interest in law school was ignited when she studied abroad in London the summer before her junior year. There she took a journalism class that required her to chronicle the legal proceedings for the extradition of former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet. The University of Miami School of Law appeared on Merritt's radar her senior year when she came to Miami for a summer internship with the Miami Metro Magazine.

Currently in her third year, Merritt is now an intern at the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) where she is involved in investigation and general litigation. "I'm doing my clinical placement with them and I've loved it so far. It's been a good, hands-on experience; they assign projects and set us loose. Overall it's been a fantastic experience."

Merritt is on the Business Law Review and she is a member of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. Merritt has also been an active participant in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). This year Merritt is a recipient of the University of Miami's Mariel Spencer Scholarship. After graduation, Merritt is tentatively planning on returning to the D.C. area and perhaps pursuing a LL.M. in tax law.