Mark Merritt Honored with NC Bar Association’s Prestigious Advocate’s Award

Robinson Bradshaw attorney Mark W. Merritt has received the Advocate’s Award, the highest honor given by the North Carolina Bar Association’s Litigation Section. Merritt is only the 15th recipient of the award.

The Advocate’s Award honors litigators who have high ethical standards, possess great skill and ability, demonstrate commitment to the highest level of service and to their clients, and exhibit respect of and love for the law. Recipients are also chosen for their pro bono and community service and for maintaining the balance of a robust professional and personal life.

Merritt served as president of both the Mecklenburg County Bar and the North Carolina State Bar, in addition to many other roles within both organizations throughout his career. Chief Justice Mark D. Martin appointed Merritt as a member of the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice, and to its Legal Professionalism Committee, in 2015. He has also been a member of the American Bar Foundation’s House of Delegates.

Within the greater community, Merritt is a regional representative for the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges as appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper in 2021 for a six-year term. His expertise in this area comes in part from a stretch of public service as the vice chancellor and general counsel for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2016-18, during which he led the University through some of the most pressing legal challenges in its history. Merritt has also been involved with the Morehead-Cain Central Selection Committee, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, The Family Center and Christ Episcopal Church in Charlotte.

At Robinson Bradshaw, Merritt’s practice covers a broad range of business-related litigation including antitrust, complex and class action, as well as shareholder litigation. He regularly represents clients in governmental investigations, counsels clients on antitrust issues and assists them in obtaining regulatory approvals, and leads clients in conducting internal investigations into accounting and financial irregularities.

A testament to his decades of successful practice, Merritt is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation and the International Society of Barristers. He is also regularly recognized in industry publications including Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America, North Carolina Super Lawyers, Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite and Benchmark Litigation.

Merritt earned his law degree from the University of Virginia and his bachelor’s degree as a John Motley Morehead Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Merritt is the third Robinson Bradshaw attorney to win the Advocate’s Award, joining fellow litigators A. Ward McKeithen and John R. Wester who received the honor in 2013 and 2021, respectively.