Meritas (law)
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Founded in 1990, Meritas is a professional services network consisting of a global alliance of business law firms formerly known as Commercial Law Affiliates.[1][2] In 2019, the association's membership included over 190 law firms in 97 countries, with more than 7500 lawyers worldwide.[3] Meritas is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Membership is extended by invitation only, and regular recertification by all firms every three years is a requirement of membership.[4] There is a staff of about 15 who handle the organization's administration and review referrals to ensure that the organization's standards are maintained.[5]
Membership
Jennifer McPhee, writing for Canadian Lawyer, described Meritas as one of the "more established by-invitation only legal networks that do extensive research before carefully selecting one firm per jurisdiction."[4] Corporate Counsel Weekly also wrote, "Meritas determines significant business or economic centers where member firms' clients may need local counsel in order to determine where it will have its members,"[1] and that "...all member firms provide Meritas with quarterly referral reports, listing all Meritas-originated referrals made to and from the firm for the stated period and cooperate in evaluating specific matters."[1] If a firm does not receive good marks, its membership with the organization may be terminated.[6]
Officers
- May 1998: Jerome Reso (Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer, LLC - New Orleans, LA, USA) named as Meritas Chair
- May 2001: George Cadman (Boughton Law Corporation - Vancouver, BC, Canada) named as Chair
- May 2005: A. Lee Lundy (Tydings & Rosenberg LLP - Baltimore, Maryland, USA) named as Chair
- February 2006: Tanna Moore named President and CEO[7]
- May 2007 Kenneth Kallish (Minden Gross LLP - Toronto, ON, Canada) named as Meritas Chair
- July 2008: Jean-Paul Bignon named as Chair-elect[8]
- April 2009: Jean-Paul Bignon (Bignon Lebray - Paris, France) named as Chair
- May 2011: Judith Lockhart (Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, New York, NY) named as Chair
- May 2013: Andre Ryan (BCF LLP - Montreal, QC, Canada) named as Chair
- May 2015: Dennis Unkovic (Meyer, Unkovic & Scott - Pittsburgh, PA, United States) named as Chair
- May 2018: Jill Wiley (Waterfall Economidis - Tucson, Arizona, United States) named as Chair
- February 2020: Sona Pancholy named President[9]
References
- ^ a b c Wright, Karen (April 18, 2007). "Focus: Law Firm Associations". Corporate Counsel Weekly. Bureau of National Affairs.
- ^ Firms find benefit in law firm networks, Minnesota Lawyer, Mar 17, 2008
- ^ Middlemiss, Jim (April 9, 2008). "Alliance extends reach of regional firms: Meritas tax group even works jointly on files". Financial Post. Retrieved November 14, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ a b McPhee, Jennifer (February 2007). "Report on Law Associations: Going Global" (PDF). Canadian Lawyer. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
- ^ Jens I. Drolshammer, Michael Pfeifer, The internationalization of the practice of law, p. 334
- ^ Tromans, R. (October 2007). "Alternative hits the mainstream". European Lawyer. p. 30.
- ^ Garrison-Sprenger, Nicole (March 20, 2006). "Minnesotan to head global legal network". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
- ^ "People On the Move". Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. July 21, 2008. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
- ^ "Meritas Global Network of Law Firms Names New President". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-18.