Melissa has a general employment litigation practice and has represented employers in numerous employment law cases in U.S. state and federal courts, focusing on the defense of collective/class actions and individual claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, and state discrimination laws.
She has extensive litigation experience in pregnancy discrimination claims as well as leave cases.
Melissa graduated from the University of San Diego Law School in 1995.
Experience
- Represented employers facing wage-and-hour claims, in more than 40 different
federal district courts. - Defeated wage-and-hour class certification in multiple federal jurisdictions,
including in Alabama, Ohio, Missouri and Tennessee. - Secured more than 20 summary judgments in federal district courts affirming
that the executive exemption for overtime pay applies to retail store managers.
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
- U.S. District Courts of Oklahoma
- U.S. District Courts of Texas
- Speaker, Coal Q&A Webcast: COVID-19 and Considerations for Reopening of Businesses, American Coal Council: Coal Q&A Program, May 19, 2020
- Speaker, McGuireWoods Sponsors SMU Women in Law Spring Tea, April 5, 2019
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University of San Diego School of LawJD
cum laude
1994 -
University of OklahomaBBA
With Special Distinction
1991
Member, American Bar Association, 1995
Member, Dallas Bar Association, 1995
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, 2014, and Board Member, 2008-2015, Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center
- Author, Texas Expands Employee Sexual Harassment Protections Beyond Federal Title VII, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, September 2, 2021
- Author, What Employers Need to Know About the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 18, 2020
- Author, Restricting Third-Party Access to Premises Due to COVID-19, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 17, 2020
- Author, OSHA Issues New COVID-19 Preparedness Guidance for Employers, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, March 12, 2020