Zach Merkle joined Sandberg Phoenix in 2017. He practices in Business Litigation, generally focusing on commercial, real-estate and employment litigation. Zach is a member of the Appellate and Complex Litigation team, where he regularly handles federal and state appeals.
In his appellate practice, Zach uses his clerkship experience to navigate federal and state appellate courts at all levels. He has handled appeals spanning the Firm's litigation practice groups, from appealing business disputes to safeguarding defense judgments won by the Firm's Health Law practice group. He is equipped to handle non-routine appellate matters too, such as amicus briefs, interlocutory appeals, and extraordinary writs.
Zach also has a thriving trial-court practice in the Business Litigation practice group. He represents businesses and individuals spanning a range of commercial and real-estate issues. His commercial-litigation practice involves disputes over contracts - stock purchase agreements, commercial leases and innumerable other commercial contracts - and business torts, such as tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy and fraud. As part of his Business Litigation expertise, Zach frequently litigates real-estate issues that arise from sale contracts, boundary disputes, deeds, declarations, easements and miscellaneous property rights. Finally, on the Employment Litigation team, Zach defendants claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower protection and trade-secret violations.
Disputes seemingly can arise from anywhere, even with the best intentions, often from an unforeseen circumstance or a series of unfortunate events. Zach understands that his clients want to end the dispute in a fair way, as soon as possible. Zach always works to resolve disputes practically and efficiently, even before a lawsuit is filed, so his clients can get back to their lives and their businesses. But Zach also understands that, sometimes, intractable disputes must be litigated until the end - and he is prepared to take those cases all the way through the appellate process.
And, of course, the law is not everything in Zach’s life. Outside the office, Zach is happiest with his wife, dog and two young kids with the (winning) Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Blues or Newcastle United on in the background.
J.D., Saint Louis University School of Law, cum laude, Dean's List
• In law school, Zach interned for the Honorable David Hylla, Chief Judge in Madison County, Illinois and the City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. Zach also served on Saint Louis University Law Review and worked in the Legal Clinic.
B.A. in Finance, University of Missouri - Columbia, summa cum laude
Illinois
Missouri
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois
Zach was a clerk with the Honorable Kurt S. Odenwald of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District.