David Meilleur (`07)

David Meilleur passed away on Feb. 14, 2012 in Albuquerque. He was 31.

Meilleur earned his J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law, after which he created his own position in the Law Offices of Nancy Simmons. He began as a clerk and then was hired as one of two lawyers in the office, where he focused his practice in the areas of civil rights and criminal defense. After being admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in 2009, Meilleur became the first of his law-school classmates to argue before the federal appeals court.

Colleagues remembered him as a compassionate advocate for the underdog and for his good-natured approach to the practice of law and toward his opponents.

Prior to law school, Meilleur earned his bachelor’s degree in 2004 from Bucknell University, where he majored in English literature and economics. At Bucknell, he received the University Prize for Men “for the man showing the greatest proficiency in English composition and literature.”  He, along with his wife, Monica, was a violinist in the Bucknell University Symphony Orchestra.