Mark Melo is Special Counsel at Bradley, Gmelich + Wellerstein LLP and heads the Firm’s Law and Motion Department. Mr. Melo has over 24 years of litigation experience, including substantial experience in premises liability, products liability, and public entity defense. He has represented grocery and department store operators, restaurant franchisors and franchisees, security guard companies, and commercial landlords and property managers in cases involving slip-and-fall and trip-and-fall accidents, as well as injuries caused by third-party criminal conduct.
Mr. Melo collaborates with other attorneys in the Firm in the initial assessment of incoming cases, and development of pre-trial strategy. He coordinates motions in limine for our trial teams and supervises attorneys in the preparation of discovery motions and dispositive motions. Mr. Melo has successfully argued before the California Court of Appeal in the Second Appellate District in Los Angeles, and also trains and mentors law clerks employed by the Firm.
Honors/Distinctions
- Phi Beta Kappa, 1994
Publications
- Go Out and Have Fun – Just Don’t Make Things Worse for Others
- Courts Promote Online Independence and Disabled Persons’ Rights in the Face of COVID-19
- Field Trip Immunity Applies To The Schools Taking Field Trips, And Not The Entities Hosting Them
- Witnesses Can Testify at Trial If the Other Party Never Asked About Them in Discovery
- Lundy v. Ford Motor Company (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th472: The California Court of Appeal held that jury instruction which provided an improper definition of “substantial” impairment under the California Lemon Law was a reversible error.
Speaking Engagements
- “Motions for Summary Judgment: Replying to Oppositions and Preparing Oral Argument,” MCLE, January 2016
- “Have Fun Storming the Castle: Winning Discovery Disputes,” MCLE, May 2014
- “The Crayola Network: Social Media Concerns for Educators,” School District Employee Seminar, January 2011
- “Winning a SLAPP Bet: Recognizing and Responding to SLAPP Suits,” MCLE, January 2010
Community Activities
- Centre Stage, Inc. (non-profit youth theatre company), Photographer and Key Parent Volunteer, 2016 – Present
- Arcadia Stage (public high school theatre company), House Manager, 2018 – Present
- Monrovia Days Annual Carnival, Volunteer, 2018 – Present
- Legal Voices Chorus, Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic Orchestra, 2009 – 2017