Meredith Esser is a dedicated advocate, educator, and scholar whose career has centered on advancing justice for incarcerated individuals through federal defense, impactful litigation, and reform-oriented scholarship. Prior to Boyd Law, she taught at University of Wyoming College of Law, where she directed the Defender Aid Clinic and taught courses in appellate advocacy and prison law. Before entering academia, she served as an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the Districts of Colorado and Wyoming, as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, representing clients charged with federal offenses. She previously practiced law at Arnold & Porter LLP, where she maintained a robust pro bono docket focused on prison conditions and criminal legal system reform. Professor Esser began her legal career clerking for the Hon. Rosemary Barkett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Hon. Russel F. Canan, Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division of the D.C. Superior Court.

Esser’s scholarship examines the intersection of second look advocacy, sentencing law, and conditions of confinement. Her work has been published in the Fordham Law Review and Iowa Law Review Online, and has been featured in the widely read legal blog Sentencing Law & Policy. She is a frequent presenter to legal practitioners on issues related to second look sentencing and has been interviewed about her research on the Public Defenseless podcast. In both her teaching and scholarship, Professor Esser is committed to advancing thoughtful reform in the criminal legal system and amplifying the voices of incarcerated individuals.