Global network Meritas elects Vancouver lawyer Luca Citton as board chair

The Meritas board of directors has elected Vancouver lawyer Luca Citton as the board chair of the global network of business law firms.

As the world continues to globalize and law firms compete for business with international law and accounting firms, Citton says he aims to enhance the network’s name recognition in his new role.

“A big onus on our network is going to be to increase the prevalence of the name of our network amongst potential clients and other industries,” he says. “Being able to advocate on behalf of the network and increase that level of branding is what I'd like to spend a good amount of time on.”

Citton is president of Boughton Law and has a corporate M&A practice. He will serve a three-year term as Meritas board chair, beginning in May.  

Meritas is an international alliance of independent law firms founded in 1990. With 177 law firms and 8,600 lawyers, the network operates in 91 countries.

Over the last few years, recruitment and retention of associates has been challenging for law firms. “Ensuring that a workplace has associate loyalty – that's nothing new,” says Citton. Now, law firm leaders must address this issue with artificial intelligence in mind and how that impacts the work associates do. “That's obviously a question that all of our members are dealing with,” he says.

The collaboration among Meritas’ network of independent firms allows them to share technology and coordinate their approaches, which allows individual firms to compete on the international stage, says Citton.

“The network started 30 years ago with the intent of quality referrals and sharing of work, so you have someone in any jurisdiction to aid your clients,” he says. “It's evolved beyond that to include the sharing of knowledge and information amongst practice areas and amongst firms.”

“It's difficult for a regional firm, unlike a national or international firm, to have the resources to engage in proprietary AI or other technologies simply because they can't afford it.”

Citton also chairs the Meritas firm management forum, a collective of managing partners across the network who share knowledge on things like effective firm management protocols, including AI use. The firm also created an information technology group. “It's for all of our members who don't necessarily have the resources to spend hours doing research or vetting all these products. To have the network do this for you has been of incredible use.”

Many of the firms in the Meritas network are small or mid-size and lack the supportive resources that large national and international firms have. He says Meritas has launched various affinity groups to engage, share knowledge, and support each other, including a women’s leadership congress and a Black lawyer’s forum.

“You may not have those people in your office, but through this affinity group, it's a safe place for you to connect with people who may have similar backgrounds and similar issues,” says Citton. “Likewise, we have lawyer exchange programs that have increased the loyalty and the goodwill with associates.”

Citton has served on Meritas’ board of directors, the quality assurance committee, the member engagement committee, the Canadian management committee, the strategic plan task force, and the board nominating committee. He is the leader of the Meritas global firm management forum and the Canadian management committee. His term as board chair begins following the Meritas annual general meeting on May 8-10.