The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), the world's largest association of in-house counsel, announced today that James A. Merklinger, a long-time executive at ACC, has been named the new general counsel of the organization. In his new role as ACC vice president and general counsel, Mr. Merklinger will represent the organization on legal issues and advise the association on meeting the needs of the in-house counsel profession.
Most recently, Mr. Merklinger served as ACC deputy general counsel and vice president - Legal Resources. Mr. Merklinger will continue to oversee the team responsible for developing ACC's array of legal resources to help in-house counsel do their jobs. He will also spearhead ACC's regular benchmarking studies to provide members and the legal industry at large with key trends related to the in-house counsel practice and outside counsel management. Mr. Merklinger joined ACC in 1995 as the director of legal resources.
Mr. Merklinger was named ACC's director of Large Law Programs in 2005, where he was the primary liaison some of the largest legal departments at companies around the world. He collaborated with faculty and members to develop relevant and insightful continuing legal education programs for in-house counsel in the U.S. and Canada. While in the position, Mr. Merklinger helped grow ACC's large law membership by more than 85 percent.