Merritt James Green

In 2011, Merritt married the love of his life, Sarah Devine, and together, they built a family and a life filled with love and laughter. Merritt was a devoted father to Sasha, Quinn, and Dillon.

Born in Greenwich, CT in 1970, Merritt was the son of Carol F. Green of Annapolis, MD, and the late Barton C. Green, was brother to Victoria “Torrey” Janssen (Matthew) and Lauson Green (Christine Lehman), and was uncle to numerous nieces and nephews.

After moving with his family to Washington, DC in 1979, Merritt attended Holy Trinity School, and he graduated from Walt Whitman High School. Merritt loved lacrosse and earned All-County Honors as a defenseman for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Lacrosse Club. He was also a standout football player – a sport he continued as a student at Middlebury College, from which he graduated in 1992. While a knee injury eventually sidelined Merritt from football, it did not limit his ability to ski regularly in the Vermont mountains.

During his junior year, Merritt spent a year at Oxford University (Wadham College) – an experience, including playing lacrosse for Oxford and exploring Europe on holidays, that he always described as lifechanging. For a couple years after graduation from Middlebury, Merritt spent time skiing, mountain biking, and working as a paralegal in Colorado. He then headed back east to attend law school at Syracuse University, following in the footsteps of his father and brother, where Merritt served as Associate Editor of the Syracuse Law Review and Editor-in-Chief of The Labor Lawyer (journal of the ABA’s labor and employment law section).

After practicing law at Venable LLP, Merritt founded General Counsel, P.C. in 2004, a full-service law firm in McLean, VA. As Managing Partner, he led the firm’s development and growth over nearly 20 years to where the firm now represents a broad variety of individuals, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses, from start-ups to billion-dollar organizations.

Merritt loved being a lawyer, but just as much he enjoyed interaction with clients and work colleagues as well as community involvement. Merritt also thrived on the business side of the practice and introduced many innovative strategies to communicate with clients and community.

Over the years since founding General Counsel, he held leadership roles in numerous charitable, community, and networking organizations, including as Board Member and Board Chair of the McLean Chamber of Commerce, Co-Founder of the Washington Executives Association, Board Member of the Community Business Partnership, Board Member of Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church, and Co-Founder of the DC Xcelerator Entrepreneur Program. Merritt, who earned the Boy Scout Eagle Scout rank as a 9th grader, also was Co-Founder and Chair of NOVA Eagle Business Networking, a forum for DC-area Eagle Scouts to meet and network. In 2016, Merritt was a National Eagle Scout Association Outstanding Eagle Scout Award Recipient.

Merritt was fun and adventurous and loved the outdoors, especially if it involved skiing, golf, or boating, and his joy was infectious for all around him. But Merritt loved nothing more than spending time with Sarah, Sasha, Quinn, and Dillon, and his extended family, whether sharing meals together, watching the sunset over the Patuxent River, or walking on the beach. We will continue the love, dedication, and living life to the fullest that Merritt so exemplified throughout his life.

Relatives and friends may call at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 3513 N St., NW, Washington, DC on Friday, January 19, at 1pm, where Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated. Merritt will be inurned at the Columbarium of The Holy Trinity at Holy Rood Cemetery in Georgetown directly thereafter. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, MD.