Lunch with Legends: Trailblazers, Trendsetters and Treasures of the Rhode Island Bar, 0214 RIBJ, 62 RI Bar J., No. 4, Pg. 19
| Author | Matthew R. Plain, Esq., Elizabeth R. Merritt, Esq. |
\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0 January, 2014
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\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Amedeo C. Merolla was born on April 24, 1929, in the Federal Hill section of Providence. He attended Providence public schools, and graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1947. From there, he went on to study International Relations and play varsity football at Brown University. Mr. Merolla graduated from Brown in 1951, and began Harvard Law School the following Fall. He graduated from Harvard in 1954, gained admission to the Massachusetts bar that same year, and then came back to his native Providence to begin private practice. Mr. Merolla gained admission to the Rhode Island bar in 1955, and spent the first seven years working with Jack Temkin before forming a partnership with Martin Temkin and Melvin Zurier in the early 1960s. He formed a subsequent partnership with Harry Asquith before establishing Merolla & Accetturo, where he currently serves as managing partner, and practices alongside his daughter, Katherine, and his son, Stephen. He served as General Counsel to the Rhode Island Secretary of State, Legal Counsel to Congressman James R. Langevin, General Counsel for the Rhode Island Public Buildings Authority, General Counsel to the Rhode Island Department of Administration, Assistant Solicitor for the City the Providence, and the Judge Advocate General for the State of Rhode Island. He also served in the United States Marine Corps and the Rhode Island Army National Guard, most recently as the Deputy Commanding General of the Rhode Island Army National Guard. Mr. Merolla is a past Chairman of the Warwick School Committee and the past President and Co-Founder of the Warwick Boys and Girls Clubs. We had the opportunity to speak with this near sixty-year veteran of the bar. Excerpts from our conversation follow.
\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0What has been the single biggest change in the legal profession/ practicing law since you first started practicing law? When I began my law practice, we had essentially two items to assist us: manual typewriters and a telephone. Today, we have computers, software, Internet, email, copiers, printers, cell phones, and more, and the presence of women as...
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