A Return to Faith

Mersino grew up Catholic but described her college years at the University of Michigan as “kind of a dark period” in her faith.

During her visit to Ave Maria School of Law, her student tour guide took her into the chapel.

“It was the first time I had been in a chapel in quite some time,” Mersino recalled.

She enrolled, and one of her most meaningful experiences at law school had little to do with a casebook or classroom.

A small group of women law students took turns cleaning the chapel on Sunday evenings and replacing the flowers before the start of each week. Each student served alone.

“That really quiet time with the Lord in the chapel just was the most fulfilling, wonderful time of the week for me,” she said.

Ave Maria Law also brought another lasting blessing into her life. She met her husband, fellow alumnus Paul Mersino, while they were students there.

Asking Where the Law Could Have the Greatest Impact

After graduating, Mersino spent four years as a criminal prosecutor, gaining extensive courtroom and trial experience.

Eventually, however, she began asking herself a larger question:

What kind of legal work could have the greatest impact on society?

By then, she said, she had become “so much more alive” in her faith. She repeatedly applied to the Thomas More Law Center until the opportunity finally came.

“That’s what I was really feeling God was calling me to do,” she said.

Her transition into religious liberty and First Amendment law came in 2011. Soon afterward, she became deeply involved in litigation challenging the federal HHS contraceptive mandate.

During the interview, Mersino recalls becoming involved in some of the earliest legal challenges to the federal HHS contraceptive mandate. Her team secured one of the country’s earliest injunctions, Legatus was among the organizations represented in the litigation, and one of those cases ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in a victory for the plaintiffs.

She also recalled discovering that fellow Ave Maria Law alumnus Matt Bowman was litigating a related challenge.

“I called him up and said, ‘Hey Matt, I see your case that you just filed,'” she said.

For Mersino, the growing number of attorneys and organizations willing to challenge the mandate mattered.

“I think there’s safety in numbers,” she said. “When so many people are challenging something, then people are more apt to listen and be attentive to what’s going on.”

Defending Religious Liberty

Throughout the Eleven Talents conversation, Mersino returns repeatedly to a theme that has shaped both her career and her understanding of the legal profession: lawyers influence far more than individual cases.

She explains that lawyers help shape public policy, draft legislation and serve in positions of influence throughout government, business and nonprofit organizations. Because of that influence, she believes the legal profession carries an extraordinary responsibility.

Mersino argues that the law needs attorneys who are guided not only by legal skill, but also by moral conviction.

That commitment, she said, extends to defending the constitutional freedoms many Americans take for granted.

“If we don’t continue to bring these cases and to challenge when injustices occur, then we’ll lose these liberties,” she said. “It’s important to stand up for what is right.”

The conversation also explores several of today’s most significant constitutional questions, including litigation involving Title IX, biological sex, gender identity, women’s sports and the continuing role of the First Amendment in American public life.

Faith in the Courtroom

The podcast also offers a personal look at how Mersino approaches her work.

Before entering court, she writes the words “God is with you” at the top of her notes, a reminder drawn from Judges 6:12. She prays the St. Michael Prayer, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Prayer of St. Thomas More.

Sometimes, she said, the prayer is even simpler.

“Dear Lord, please help me. I love You so much. Please let me do Your will.”

Mersino also prays with clients.

“I don’t think that you can get through something as difficult as litigation without a really strong reliance on our Lord and without just that hope that God brings to us that nothing else could ever match.”

The conversation also touches on balancing a demanding legal career with raising five sons, including her youngest son, Jacob, who has Down syndrome, and the role faith has played throughout her family’s life.

“Do It.”

After the interview, Ave Maria School of Law asked Mersino one additional question:

Looking back, what would you tell an Ave Maria Law student today who feels called to use his or her legal career in defense of faith and religious freedom?

Her answer began with two words.

“Do it.”

“God has supplied you with every gift and spiritual blessing you need to carry out His work.”

Mersino then shared a prayer by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen that has become especially meaningful to her:

“I want you to send me some trouble, some inconvenience, something that will be very hard for me, and because of it, somebody else will be helped very, very much.”

She said the prayer reflects what her own “legal ministry” strives to do: helping defend and preserve the faith and the rights of her clients regardless of inconvenience or difficulty.

“And through participating in this work, we get to reap the best reward: the reward of helping others,” she wrote. “I know of no joy more fulfilling.”

Mersino’s story is a reminder that the practice of law is about more than winning cases. At its best, she believes, it is an opportunity to serve others with both conviction and courage.

Watch the full Eleven Talents Podcast interview with Legatus President Stephen Henley: Religious Freedom Under Fire: Erin Mersino on Faith, the Supreme Court & Title IX.