Gala Honoree Spotlight: Merrill, Arnone & Jones, LLP - Small Business of the Year

Merrill, Arnone & Jones is a premier Sonoma County law firm that has been serving the needs of North Bay businesses for over 40 years. Based in Santa Rosa, the firm’s 5 partners pride themselves on being problem solvers for both the community and their clients.

Community service is deeply ingrained in the firm’s culture. Mike Merrill arrived in Sonoma County in 1972 after serving his country as a Marine during the war in Vietnam. More recently, Mike was instrumental in bringing commercial air service back to Sonoma County as Chairman of the Airline Attraction Committee. Bill Arnone currently serves on the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities, and spent 15 years as a member of the City’s Housing Commission and Redevelopment Agency. Ross Jones served on Windsor’s first Parks & Recreation Commission and as a member of the Sonoma County Business Crime Prevention Task Force. Marlon Young is playing an important role in the expansion of the Sonoma County Airport as Chairman of the County’s Aviation Commission and a member of the Airport Master Plan Citizens Advisory Committee. Michael Fish has served in a variety of leadership positions within Rotary International, and was the Chairman of Rotaplast International, an organization providing free cleft palate and lip surgeries to impoverished children around the world.

As problem solvers for their clients, the firm provides expert legal services in a variety of industries. When the hospitality industry was looking for funding mechanisms to launch more focused destination marketing efforts, the firm worked with the Sonoma County Lodging Association to create the first county wide business improvement area in California. Public safety agencies throughout the County rely upon Merrill, Arnone & Jones to provide guidance on issues such as open meeting laws, elections and collaborative initiatives between special districts. To the wine industry, the firm brings expertise in the field of trademark protection and dispute resolution. For pilots and aviation businesses, the firm provides counsel on liability avoidance, regulatory compliance and the facilitation of purchase and sale transactions.

Many of the businesses served by Merrill, Arnone & Jones are not large enough to justify the expense of in-house legal staff. So the firm strives to fill this need by learning as much as possible about each client and the issues that are important to their success. This includes the needs and desires of individual business owners who may have estate planning or other personal legal needs.

The people at Merrill, Arnone & Jones are dedicated professionals who care about the well-being of the firm’s clients, and who genuinely enjoy working together. Support staff members are encouraged to upgrade skills by participating in trade organizations and attending continuing education classes. The firm has also been recognized as “AV Rated”, the highest ranking awarded by Martindale Hubble, the leading peer review agency.

Congratulations to Merrill, Arnone & Jones on being named the Chamber's Small Business of the Year.