Prior to returning to private practice in 2011, Mr. Merz was employed in a number of in-house positions in the asset management industry.  Mr. Merz was a Managing Director & Deputy General Counsel for eight years at Legg Mason, where he focused on counseling the firm’s various registered investment advisor affiliates on regulatory matters, product development and government relations. He was also involved in supporting Legg Mason’s retail managed financial products (including mutual funds, closed end funds, collective investment trusts, 529 plans and retail separately managed accounts) and in the negotiation and implementation of a number of corporate acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings for the firm.

Before joining Legg Mason, Mr. Merz worked at Fidelity Investments for over nine years.  While at Fidelity, he provided legal support to a number of different business functions, including portfolio management operations, investment compliance, various international and special product development initiatives, and mutual fund administration.

From 1985 to 1992, Mr. Merz was an Associate in the New York and London offices of Debevoise & Plimpton, where he was engaged in a general corporate practice with an emphasis on financial services, mergers & acquisitions and international securities law.

Mr. Merz earned his law degree in 1985 from the University of Chicago, where he was on the University of Chicago Law Review.  He graduated magna cum laude from Middlebury College in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

Mr. Merz is a member of the District of Columbia, Massachusetts and New York bars.