With more than 15 years of experience advising and defending educational institutions at all levels throughout the country, Melissa represents charter schools, charter school management organizations, private and independent schools, and other educational institutions as general outside counsel. She focuses on delivering cutting-edge advice and counsel to proactively help her clients navigate the ever-changing education landscape.
Melissa is well-versed in ethics laws and advises and offers compliance training to her education clients on a host of topics, including open meetings laws and board policies, best practices, and manuals. Her experience also extends to special education and student discipline issues. Melissa advises her school clients on contract negotiations and real estate and financing transactions. She regularly works with schools to review student and staff handbooks and enrollment contracts for legal compliance, and to create student and staff policies, including artificial intelligence (AI) policies, social media and technology policies, drug and alcohol policies, and policies pertaining to student privacy, student records, and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Melissa’s experience further extends to creating Title IX policies and programs and advising clients on evolving regulatory and compliance aspects of Title IX.
Melissa also routinely provides training to school boards of trustees, administration, and employees on topics including Title IX, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), open meetings/ethics laws, and other board governance matters.
When litigation or other issues arise, Melissa has significant experience defending educational institutions in a variety of matters in state and federal courts, as well as Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaints.
In addition, she represents large and small companies in wide range of complex commercial disputes. She has extensive experience practicing in Louisiana district courts and courts of appeal.