Leading Across Regions: Meritas® 2025 Regional Meetings in Action

Over the past few months, Luca Citton, President of Boughton Law and Chair of the Board for Meritas®, has been on the road with the Meritas network, helping shape conversations about the future of law across three continents. From Salt Lake City to Brisbane to Vienna, the 2025 Joint Regional Meeting (US, Canada, and Latin America & Caribbean), the Australia & New Zealand Regional Meeting, and the EMEA Regional Meeting all shared a common theme: how stronger relationships and smarter collaboration translate into better outcomes for clients.

As Board Chair, Citton played an active role at each event—not only representing Boughton Law but also helping member firms turn feedback into action and ensuring that the network’s strategy stays grounded in what clients need as markets continue to evolve at pace.

Salt Lake City: Putting Member Feedback to Work

The 2025 Joint Regional Meeting in Salt Lake City brought together firms from the US, Canada, and Latin America & the Caribbean to focus on “membership at work”—how the network can do more than simply connect firms and instead actively drive new business and better client service.

Citton opened the Friday program with “Driving Business: Meritas Membership at Work,” a session co-led with regional leadership that walked members through how the Board has been translating feedback into action. He highlighted new and evolving services designed to support training, increase value from meetings, and make it easier for firms to generate referrals and access new clients across the Americas. Using real examples of referrals and joint matters, he showed how collaboration across jurisdictions is already delivering measurable results for clients in areas like regulatory change, cross-border trade, and disputes.

The Salt Lake program then built on this foundation with an interactive workshop on the hallmarks of well-led firms, a panel on advising clients amid political uncertainty, and an “Innovation Spotlight” where firms showcased creative approaches improving client outcomes. The message behind Citton’s remarks was clear—effective governance, shared insight, and strong relationships open the door to faster, more aligned client support wherever business needs arise.

Brisbane: The Future of Mid-Sized Firms and Smarter Collaboration

In Brisbane, at the 2025 Australia & New Zealand Regional Meeting hosted by Bennett & Philp Lawyers, the focus shifted to the future of small and mid-sized firms and how regional collaboration can amplify their strengths.

Over two days of programming, attendees heard from speakers on topics ranging from the politics of leadership in ancient Rome to the realities facing modern law firms, including a candid session on “Where to From Here? The Future of Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms” and a practical look at how firms are deploying legal GenAI. These sessions underscored a shared reality: clients expect efficiency, responsiveness, and innovation, regardless of firm size or geography.

Citton’s participation in the Brisbane meeting brought a distinctly forward-looking tone to the discussions. Speaking to the ANZ region, he focused on how firms can position themselves for long-term growth in a shifting legal landscape—particularly as practices balance rising client expectations with rapid technological change. Rather than delivering a formal presentation, he created space for an open, candid conversation with members, inviting questions and perspectives on everything from talent pressures to the realities of pricing in competitive markets.

Drawing on insights he gathered from other regions in recent months, he helped connect local challenges to broader global trends, illustrating how shared experience across the network can strengthen individual firms. The dialogue was energetic and unfiltered, with members openly discussing what’s working, where firms are struggling, and how the Meritas community can better support innovation and collaboration across the ANZ market.

The meeting closed with a day-long cultural and networking outing on Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), reinforcing a core Meritas value: strong relationships are built not only in boardrooms, but also through shared experiences and time spent together. For clients, that translates into deeper trust among the lawyers who collaborate on their matters.

Vienna: Connection as a Business Strategy

The 2025 Meritas EMEA Regional Meeting in Vienna carried the theme “The Business of Connection: Building Trust, Sharing Growth.” Hosted by Binder Grösswang, the program blended substantive legal and business content with a strong focus on talent, collaboration, and long-term growth.

From a panel on cross-border arbitration to a fireside chat with Danijel Dzihic, Managing Director of BYD Austria, on transformation in the automotive sector, the sessions captured how quickly markets are shifting—and how essential it is for firms to anticipate change. There was also a strong emphasis on people: how firms are attracting and retaining talent, how Emerging Leaders are being brought into strategic conversations, and how practice and sector groups are setting priorities for 2026.

In the midst of this, Citton led “Meritas as Your Business Growth Partner,” a session that took a candid look at how firms can use the network more strategically. He shared concrete examples of international client wins, joint pursuits, and cross-border teams formed through Meritas, illustrating how intentional collaboration can turn one firm’s local relationship into a multi-jurisdictional solution for the client. He encouraged firms to see Meritas as a growth engine—for their practices and for the clients who rely on seamless support across borders.

What This Means for Boughton Law Clients

Across all three regional meetings, one message came through clearly: clients today are facing complexity that rarely stops at a single border. Whether it’s navigating shifting trade rules in the Americas, planning for the future of a mid-sized business in Australia, or managing regulatory and dispute challenges in Europe, businesses need advisors who are connected, informed, and ready to move quickly.

“Each of these meetings reinforced that our clients are looking for more than legal answers—they’re looking for coordinated strategies that reflect what’s happening globally,” said Citton. “As part of Meritas, we’re not just watching these conversations from the sidelines; we’re helping shape them.”

For Boughton Law’s clients, this involvement translates into practical advantages: insight into how different markets are evolving, faster access to trusted counsel in other jurisdictions, and a global network that is actively investing in innovation, talent, and collaboration. By leading and participating in these regional meetings, Citton ensures that the perspectives and needs of Western Canadian businesses are part of the global dialogue—and that the lessons learned abroad flow directly back into how Boughton Law serves its clients at home.

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