Sole Nevada Firm in the Meritas Global Network

Please click here for more information about McDonald Carano’s 2025-2028 recertification in Meritas.

Please click here for more information about McDonald Carano’s 2022-2025 recertification in Meritas.

McDonald Carano is a founding member of Meritas, the premier global network of independent, market-leading law firms that help clients do business around the world. McDonald Carano was a founding member of Meritas in 1990 and is the only Nevada member firm serving the local needs of clients from other Meritas member firms. Meritas provides McDonald Carano with a virtual presence in over 90 countries through an international network of more than 170 law firms that provide a full range of high-quality and highly ranked business law services. All member firms share an ethos of unmatched responsiveness and dedication to client service and satisfaction. 2025 is the fifth consecutive year that Meritas has received the highest Elite Global Legal Network recognition from Chambers & Partners, the world’s leading organization that ranks the legal profession.

Leo Bergin and Matt Addison serve as Meritas Member Contacts in our Reno office. Andy Gabriel and Amanda Yen serve as Meritas Member Contacts in our Las Vegas office. Amanda currently serves on the Meritas U.S. Leadership Committee and, since 2015, has held numerous leadership roles on the Board of Directors and the Emerging Leaders Advisory Board.

Membership in Meritas is by invitation only and each member firm is held accountable to rigorous membership requirements and strict adherence to the highest standards of service and legal expertise. Meritas delivers quality, consistency, and reliability through extensive due diligence in the selection and credentialing of new member firms, regular client assessments, ongoing re-evaluation and re-certification, and peer reviews for each client matter referral. Meritas delivers exceptional legal knowledge, local expertise, personal attention, and proven value to clients worldwide. The Meritas goal is not to be the largest worldwide legal network — just the most trusted with its proven approach for attracting and retaining quality member firms that deliver great work and top-tier legal expertise.

Women’s Leadership Council

• Mentoring Program — In January 2025, Amanda Yen became a mentor in the inaugural Women’s Leadership Mentoring Program at Meritas. The mentoring program was created by the Women’s Leadership Council to help women advance to leadership roles across the Meritas network.
• Leadership Awards — In 2024, the Women’s Leadership Council created the inaugural Women’s Leadership Awards program to “celebrate the outstanding leadership and achievements demonstrated by women leaders, future leaders, and allies from the Meritas network around the world.” In 2024, Karyna Armstrong received the “Highly Recommended Rising Star of the Year” award recognizing her “exceptional start to a legal career” and her  contributions to advancing women lawyers and a path to leadership. In 2025, Mark Buckovich received the Male Ally of the Year award recognizing “a male ally who is actively committed to encouraging, advancing, sponsoring, or championing the progress of women in law firms.”
• Promoting Success — In 2024, the Meritas Women’s Leadership Council featured an interview with Kelci Binau in a new initiative named “The Lady Behind the Label” which focuses on raising the profile of women leaders by celebrating both their professional and personal accomplishments. The initiative helps deepen the connection with the incredible women across the Meritas network beyond job titles and professions.

The Meritas model is designed to help clients take the guesswork out of finding a prequalified legal team. Meritas provides peace of mind for business owners, in-house counsel and other users of sophisticated legal services who need to quickly and easily connect to carefully selected, qualified, and independent legal expertise worldwide. Working with Meritas provides a predictable, efficient, and positive experience because Meritas selects independent, mid-sized firms that are flexible, accommodating, and attentive.

Clients know their legal work will be handled reliably and consistently around the world because firms do not remain in the Meritas network if they are unable to maintain the highest standards of service and the most rigorous criteria for client satisfaction. Through the recertification process, Meritas continually monitors the performance of member firms to ensure the best legal advice available. This disciplined, analytical approach assures clients receive prequalified legal assistance and exceptional service, every time.

All Meritas firms must:

• Adhere to a specific set of service standards.
• Demonstrate a consistent record of peer and client satisfaction.
• Comply with a stringent code of professional ethics.
• Undergo an extensive re-certification process that requires conflict avoidance procedures, a full-service scope of areas of legal expertise, appropriate professional liability coverage, a docket control system, and Continuing Legal Education requirements, among many other components for professional credentialing and quality control.

Please click here to learn more about Meritas.