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Officer Reports
My time on the
Board and the Officer
ranks is over. I am
supposed to write a
farewell piece, but I
don’t feel like doing
Howard Merten
that. Why would I bid
farewell to sharing the company of
amazing and passionate people on
important projects and in amazing
places? I plan to stick around. Not
Dan Kohane or John Woodard long.
That’s just crazy. But while I am
not going anywhere (except maybe
further into obscurity), I will do
my duty and reflect on my FDCC
experience. My fondest wish is that
many of you get to experience the
same kind of journey I have had.
I always tell younger lawyers, “Don’t
bury the lead,” so let me start with
what a lot of FDCC members think
is the lead – but it really isn’t. I have
had the honor of referring business
to, and getting referrals from, some
of the best lawyers in the country,
lawyers that I trust and call friends.
I have generated millions of dollars
in fees through my contacts in the
FDCC. I have had the good fortune
to work on some of the largest and
most interesting cases of my career
through referrals from this group.
Why, then, do I say this is not the
lead? Because while business
generation has been a critical part
of my FDCC experience, it has
not, in my humble opinion, been
the most important. Many of you
have heard me, and others, say the
FDCC can make you a better lawyer,
partner, leader, and person. While it
sounds hokey, that is the lead. And
the amazing thing is, embracing
Time Well Spent
by Howard Merten
that part of the journey is what leads
to business generation – at least in
my experience. I generated work
by getting and staying involved. By
trying to do as good a job as I could
with every opportunity presented to
me. By speaking, writing, working
with others, accepting assignments
and leadership when offered. By
coming to every meeting I could,
helping others whenever I could,
and building relationships. There is
no magic. There is consistency and
commitment.
I have enjoyed making a difference
on various issues facing our
profession. I have participated in
discussions about the assault on
the attorney-client privilege, the
Yates Memo, amendments to the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
on proportionality, expert
discovery, 30(b)(6) depositions,
and e-discovery, Federal Rule of
Evidence 502, the advent of Iqbal
and Twombley, and AI. I have
spoken about, written on, and
even better, listened to, how to
become a better trial lawyer, a more
ethical trial lawyer, and a better
marketer. I have collaborated on
law firm management issues and,
most memorably, organized a
series of town halls that helped the
law firm leaders in our group feel
our way through COVID together
when others in our industry were
floundering alone.
I also have had an amazing time
along the way. With my wife Roni
by my side, I have learned how
to fly fish and relearned shooting
a shotgun. I got to experience
Canada Day with the Canadians in
Banff, dress as a pirate, taste wines,
and bourbons, and tequilas, and
bourbons again. I have ridden
in sailboats, zodiacs, white water
rafts, float planes, giant canoes,
horses, off-road jeeps, ... I have
been to mountains and deserts
and islands and monasteries,
caves and volcanoes and rodeos,
bar hopping with the General and
beer gardens with friends, and –
wait for it – the very place where
Captain Kirk battled the Gorn. And,
most importantly, I have indeed
developed lifelong friends.
I was a successful lawyer before I
joined the FDCC (you have to be,
right?) and probably would have
done okay focused om my small
world of the business on my desk
and the clients that I had. But
look at all I would have missed.
Jump in and take advantage of the
opportunities you have in front
of you as a part of this amazing
organization. I still plan to do the
same.
Howard Merten currently serves as
Chairman of the Board and is a past
President of the FDCC. He is also a partner
and Executive Committee member at
Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP in Providence,
Rhode Island.
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Summer 2025 | Federation Flyer
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