Mr. Merjian is one of the nation’s leading civil rights lawyers, and likely the preeminent lawyer in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with New York at its epicenter. He has labored, with unrivalled success, to advance the civil rights particularly of indigent people of color for 34 years, across numerous fields, including transgender, housing, and disability discrimination, poverty/benefits law, homeless rights, and asylum.

Two of his groundbreaking victories have been reported on the front page of the New York Times, one the lead story of the day. His work has benefited millions of Americans. He has succeeded, moreover, on a shoestring budget, without so much as a paralegal, while overseeing an office providing legal services to thousands of indigent New Yorkers. His victories include: