Diversity Committee Member

Recruiting Committee, Member

• Indianapolis Bar Association
• Illinois Bar Association
• American Bar Association

• Indiana
• West Virginia

• DePaul University, J.D., 1997
• University of Illinois, B.A., 1994

Melanie is a Member at Frost Brown Todd concentrating her practice in business litigation, general business counseling and non-competition law.  She is the Chair of the Financial Institutions Section of the Business Litigation Practice Group at the firm, and leads that section based on her years of experience representing financial institutions, both large and small, in state and federal courts across the country.  Melanie's early days as a litigator nearly 15 years ago were spent in Chicago, which provided invaluable experience as to how to combat even the toughest case, opposing counsel, decision maker or venue.  In addition to Melanie's extensive litigation practice, she works closely with clients to identify early potential dispute resolution opportunities, and has a track record of obtaining successful results outside the courtroom through measures such as mediation, arbitration or private settlement negotiations.

Melanie has tried to judgment matters for plaintiffs and defendants relating to contract interpretation and breach; tortuous and negligent interference; restrictive covenants; trade secrets; state RICO; breach of fiduciary duty; fraudulent conveyance; corporate ownership/corporate veil theories; and eviction. Melanie's daily litigation and general counseling practice also involves representing plaintiffs and defendants in these same areas as well as matters involving allegations of lender liability, fraud, self-dealing and corporate governance.

Melanie's current practice is primarily devoted to representing financial institutions relating to a plethora of consumer litigation and internal governance issues and serving as national counsel for a medical device manufacturer relating to employment contract and restrictive covenant issues.  In addition, she still counsels small to medium sized businesses in both general business principals, litigation/risk avoidance and employee management.  The majority of these businesses are in the manufacturing, life sciences or professional services industries.

• Selected for inclusion in Indiana Super Lawyers® Rising Stars, 2009, 2010, 2011

• National Association of Women Lawyers
• Indianapolis Bar Association, Board of Managers, 2008-2009
• Defense Research Institute
• Healthcare Business Women’s Association
• Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana, Business Litigation Section Chair, 2002 and 2003
• Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel

• Stanley K. Lacy Leadership Series, Class XXXII
• Domestic Violence Network of Indianapolis, former Board Member
• Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, former Board Member
• Women’s Fund OPTIONS alumni

7th Circuit Update, The Business Section, Newsletter of the Commercial Litigation Committee, DRI, Quarterly, 2010, 2011

No Warning . . . So What? The Indiana Supreme Court’s Ruling In Kovach V. Caligor Midwest and Proximate Cause Given the Read-And-Heed Presumption in Failure-To-Warn Cases
DTCI: Indiana Civil Litigation Review, July 12, 2010

Recent Application of Wyeth v. Levine Preemption Outside the Prescription Drug Context
American Bar Association Mass Torts, Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2010