The Litigation Counsel of America is pleased to announce that Meryl Macklin of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, is the 2024 recipient of the William E. Wegner Professionalism Award. The award was presented to Meryl by LCA Fellow Matthew Wegner, Bill Wegner’s son, at the 2024 LCA Conference & Celebration of Fellows at the Four Seasons Jackson Hole. “Meryl Meryl embodies an unwavering dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession, showcasing a remarkable blend of professionalism, civility, and mastery in the field of litigation. Her steadfast commitment to ethical principles, paired with her keen analytical acumen and meticulous approach to legal practice, sets her apart as a distinguished leader in her field,” said LCA Executive Director and General Counsel G. Steven Henry.
Meryl is a trial lawyer and mediator with over 35 years of experience trying and resolving complex business disputes. For the last 20 years, Meryl’s practice has been largely focused on mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance disputes, including indemnity claims, breaches of representations and warranties, pre-closing disputes, rep and warranty insurance disputes, and earnouts. Meryl works closely with deal lawyers to resolve these disputes and to consult on relevant language in underlying agreements. She co-leads BCLP’s M&A Disputes practice team and is a frequent speaker on M&A disputes.
Meryl’s trial experience has enabled her to develop targeted litigation strategies even when handling cases likely to settle, avoiding unnecessary and costly motion and discovery practice where possible. She brings her keen understanding and awareness of parties’ and lawyers’ motivations and litigation dynamics to her mediation practice, bringing an open mind and her considerable experience to her efforts to help parties navigate the resolution of their disputes. Clients, in turn, reach out to Meryl to tap into her pragmatic ability to resolve disputes in a timely manner because they know she will get the job done. Meryl is a member of the Northern District of California Mediation Panel and serves as a mediator for a wide range of commercial disputes. She attended mediation training at the Harvard Negotiation Project and at the Northern District of California.
The William E. Wegner Professionalism Award was established in 2022. It is an annual award designed to honor a lawyer, judge, or legal scholar for exemplary civility and excellence in the practice of law. The award is named after William E. “Bill” Wegner, 2014 President of the LCA. Bill was a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, in Los Angeles, California, for 35 years. A preeminent trial lawyer and legal author, Bill had extensive trial experience in commercial, antitrust, intellectual property, entertainment, and product liability litigation throughout his career. He inspired many to follow his path and made a profound impact in his field with his sharp intellect, creativity, and a personal approach to cases.
For more information about the William E. Wegner Professionalism Award, please contact Beth Rich at Beth.Rich@Litcounsel.org.
