Anton Mertens, '87 was elected president of the Mercer Law School Alumni Association during the Second Annual Alumni Dinner held on February 19, 2016. Mertens will begin serving a two-year term with the help of President-elect Anne Kaufold-Wiggins.
Born in Brussels, Belgium, Mertens first came to the United States as a high school exchange student in Jacksonville, Florida. After studying in Birmingham, Alabama, he moved to Macon, Georgia in 1982 to continue his undergraduate education as a junior at Mercer University. He received a scholarship to pursue his degree in mathematics, and with dreams of becoming a doctor, he lived with Dr. and Mrs. Donald Rhame of Macon. When his plans to go to medical school didn't pan out, he decided to go to law school instead. “It was the best thing that could have happened to me,” says Mertens. “I would not be the person I am today without the support of Mercer University and the world-class education it provided.”
Mertens wants to continue to grow alumni engagement by encouraging volunteers, mentors, leaders, and donors. “We want to engage our young alumni, strengthen the connections already established and foster rewarding and enriching ways for alumni to create and build professional networks,” he says. He welcomes and encourages alumni to share ideas and insights to help shape our future.
Mertens has served as a member of the Law Alumni Board of Directors since 2011, secretary (2012-14) and president-elect (2014-16). “I feel honored to help build upon the strong reputation of our wonderful school,” says Mertens. “The opportunities that Mercer has given me in my life cannot be repaid — they are priceless!”
Mertens is a partner in Burr & Forman's Labor and Employment Practice Group with a focus on business immigration law. He is fluent in Dutch, French and English. He currently serves as president of the Belgian American Chamber of the South and as Belgium's advisor for economic diplomacy for the State of Georgia. He also co-chairs the Global Commerce Council of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
He and Margaret, his wife of 25 years, live in Atlanta, Georgia and have two children, Anton II and Madeleine. Anton enjoys competing in Ironman triathlons with his wife and playing bass guitar in the band “Class Action” with other lawyers and friends.
