MERITAS Member

A trusted alliance of independent law firms.  Distinguished by quality.

Though Hampton Roads is Pender & Coward’s primary legal market, our membership in MERITAS enables us to provide our clients with local counsel and “local knowledge” anywhere in the world.

MERITAS is an established global alliance of independent, full-service law firms.  Since its founding in 1990, it has been distinguished by its quality standards.  Leon Steinberg, a practicing lawyer and its founder, created MERITAS in response to a need:  He was frustrated by the difficulty of finding and hiring qualified, local counsel.  And he was disappointed by the lack of quality control in firms outside his jurisdiction.  Steinberg developed a rigorous system for evaluating firm performance and launched MERITAS.

Over the years, MERITAS has carefully vetted and invited select, like-minded firms to join the non-profit alliance for their mutual benefit.  Today there are more than 170 MERITAS law firms worldwide, in over 60 countries.  Firms become members through invitation.  To maintain membership, they agree to perform under our uniquely comprehensive Quality Assurance Program, ensuring that clients receive the same high quality legal work and service from every MERITAS firm.

The MERITAS model provides essential peace of mind for business owners, in-house counsel and others who can easily connect with carefully qualified, independent business legal expertise worldwide.