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Admissions

Maryland

Credentials

  • J.D., Penn State Dickinson Law, 1998

    • Kauffman Securities Law Moot Court Team

    • Senior Editor and Business Manager, The Dickinson Journal of Environmental Law and Policy
    • Corpus Juris Society

  • B.A., Muhlenberg College, 1995

    • magna cum laude

Merrick Benn is Chair and CEO-Elect of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) and a member of its Global Board. At the start of his term in January 2025, he will lead the Firm Management Committee, which is responsible for domestic strategy, operations, profitability, and structural organization, and co-chair the Global Board of Womble Bond Dickinson (International) Limited, overseeing joint business development and inter-firm collaboration.

Since joining Womble in 2009, Merrick has demonstrated a commitment to influencing positive change and building consensus across practices, sectors, offices, and other internal constituencies. He was first elected to the Firm Management Committee in 2017, serving three consecutive terms. During that time, he was appointed to the Executive Committee, named US Vice Chair, and served as Capital Markets Practice Group Leader and Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee. Merrick is also a former member of the firm’s Finance & Administration, Operations, and Budget Committees, the latter of which he chaired for two years.
 
In his practice, Merrick delivers practical business solutions and guidance on complex financial challenges to clients in the equipment finance industry, balancing risk management with a growth mindset. In over 25 years of practice, he has represented some of the country’s most active bank-affiliated and large, independent equipment financing companies in developing lease and syndication documentation, including implementing titling trusts. He excels in structuring complex transactions and advising on portfolio acquisitions across diverse asset classes. His extensive experience spans a wide range of equipment types, from aircraft and rail to software and medical equipment.

Merrick is a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association and the National Business Aircraft Association and regularly contributes to business and legal publications. He was recently selected to the Business Law Power List and named an Influential Marylander by The Daily Record.  
 

Representative Experience

Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.

  • Lead counsel to owner participant and syndication agent in the creation of titling trust for large pool of over-the-road vehicles and subsequent syndication of sub-interests in trust estate.
  • Lead counsel to national bank in a series of warehouse loans to NY Fund secured by a pool of rolling stock.
  • Represented National Bank in acquisition of large portfolio of equipment loans and leases comprised of mixed collateral assets.
  • Represented a group of lessors in financing a fleet of four new Gulfstream Aircraft under a synthetic lease structure for a subsidiary of a publicly traded company. The transaction included progress payments during the manufacturing process of the aircraft.
  • Represented agent in syndicated loan facility of fleet of double-hulled articulated tug-barges for use in Great Lakes.

Professional & Civic Activities

  • American Bar Association, Business Law Section
  • Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (Service Providers Sector Co-Chair, 2014)
  • National Business Aircraft Association
  • Maryland State Bar Association, Business Law Section
  • Baltimore Junior Association of Commerce, Former Board Member and Legal Counsel

Thought Leadership

Media Mentions

Publications

Presentations

  • “Lease Economics and the Terms That Bling,” Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Legal Forum (May 2022)

  • “Preventing and Detecting Fraud in Aircraft Sales and Financing Transactions,” National Aircraft Finance Association Webinar (September 15, 2020)

  • “Adding Value: Internal/External Roundtable,” Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Legal Forum (April 2019)

  • “Documentation and Structure: Financing Rail, Aircraft, and Marine Assets,” Flagstar Bank Annual Meeting (February 6, 2018)

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