Canada will play host to one of the largest international events organized by a global legal alliance, as up to 400 lawyers from 173 firms across the world are scheduled to attend the Meritas annual meeting in Montreal starting May 11.
Meritas, a global alliance of pre-qualified, independent, full-service law firms, organizes this type of event every year to facilitate member networking and the sharing of expertise. It has member firms with about 7,000 lawyers in total, working in 73 countries.
The Montreal conference also marks the first time the event has been held in a French-speaking environment.
“There won’t only be lawyers coming here for three days. Through them, the thousands of clients they represent will be visiting us, too,” says Mario Charpentier, managing partner of BCF LLP, a Meritas member in Quebec.
He adds the conference will likely be a boon for the province’s economy. “The Quebec government’s Plan Nord and Quebec’s appeal due to its natural resources will create important investment opportunities for foreign companies, represented in their countries of origin by Meritas member law firms,” says Charpentier.
Meritas has a long relationship with the Association of Corporate Counsel so representatives of the ACC chapters in Quebec and Ontario are also scheduled to participate in the event. There will be a couple of sessions exclusive to ACC members.
Meritas is one of several
global legal alliances. Lawyers use their firms’ membership in the alliances to find previously vetted law firms to refer their clients when they need help in other jurisdictions around the world. Independent law firms can join an alliance after being vetted for quality and agreeing to the rules the alliance sets.
The event will be held at Westin Hotel Montreal.
