Judge Janis van Meerveld was sworn in as Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana on July 29, 2016. Judge van Meerveld grew up in Brussels, Belgium, and then graduated from Newcomb College of Tulane University in 1984. She obtained her J.D. from Tulane Law School in 1987, where she served on the Moot Court Board, and as an oralist on the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court team.

Prior to taking her seat on the federal bench, Judge van Meerveld practiced for almost 30 years, primarily in the state of Louisiana, starting in the areas of maritime law and general insurance defense, but later developing a specialization in labor and employment. Judge van Meerveld represented management in all areas of employment law, including class actions, ERISA claims, and Directors and Officers liability claims. She frequently assisted clients in the development of employee policies, procedures and handbooks, advised employers on hiring, discipline, and termination policies and practices, and conducted training on many employment related matters.

Judge van Meerveld worked for 27 years as an associate and then partner at Adams and Reese LLP. There, she served as the head of its Labor and Employment team, was a chair of the firm’s Recruiting Committee, and sat on the firm’s Diversity Committee. Judge van Meerveld also served for many years as the chair of the New Orleans-based ABA/EEOC Liaison Committee.

In the community, Judge van Meerveld serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Boys Hope Girls Hope of New Orleans, an organization she has actively served since 1999. From 2012-2020, she was also a member of the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.