Melanie works closely with employers to resolve a variety of issues that arise in the workplace. This includes advice on labour law and related issues such as disability and protected leave, employee privacy, wage and scheduling considerations, workplace violence and retaliation, and whistleblower concerns, as well as advice on hiring, promotion, downgrading and dismissal issues. Melanie also helps employers create and review employment manuals and various employment-related agreements, forms, policies and plans. It conducts workplace investigations into complaints and allegations of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other illegal or undesirable behaviour, and notifies employers when such concerns arise. In addition to providing pure legal advice, Melanie also strives to provide reasonable strategies for dealing with and resolving workplace conflicts to avoid litigation wherever possible. Melanie represents clients in a variety of industries, including financial services (e.g., banking, broker-dealers, investment advisors, insurance companies), manufacturing, software and technology, and transportation. Melanie is a member of the company`s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. From 2005 to 2012, she was named one of Southern California`s “Rising Stars” by Law & Politics magazine. As a graduate of the University of Chicago, Morales said she loved Rutgers Law`s affordability and high-quality upbringing: “Rutgers let me do what I wanted to do. Rutgers is a place (that helped me) with my dreams of becoming a public advocate and engaging in public interest law.
Melanie also represents the firm`s mortgage banking clients in litigation. She acts as counsel in a variety of set-up and service claims, including defense against illegal foreclosure and fraud claims, claims related to promised or failed credit changes, unfair business practices, consumer protection, lien litigation, and misapplication of payment allegations. Morales has also served as co-editor of the Rutgers Race and Law Review, was a Marsha Wenk Fellow, worked for the HIV Law Project and the Legal Aid Society, and was an outsider at the Federal Public Defender`s Office and a member of the Rutgers Law Minority Student Program. “This clinic helped me gain experience in school. It helped me learn more about the challenges facing communities in Essex County. I liked it a lot,” she said. It also earned Morales two awards after graduation, including the “Outstanding Clinical Student Award.” “This place has a reputation for being a school where social justice advocates and lawyers come out,” she said. “I liked it.” She said she met with judges and other court staff and appreciated the friendships she made with other students at the clinic, as well as the mentorship of Professor Laura Cohen, the clinic`s director. With Cohen`s help, Morales and another student worked on a briefing on Stop and Pruzure. “I had to start this work before I practiced (law),” she said, adding that she appreciates the different pace of clinical work compared to classroom instruction. “The class doesn`t have the same urgency.
Someone is waiting for your call. You have a responsibility. Customers are counting on you. Often, litigation is inevitable. Melanie also regularly represents employers in litigation, arbitrations and administrative proceedings involving all types of labour disputes, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful dismissal, compensation and hours of work (including class and class actions and PAGA claims), breach of contract, defamation, unfair competition, trade secrets and raid claims. As in her employment consulting practice, Mélanie tries to achieve her clients` goals in the most pragmatic and cost-effective way possible. Examples of employment matters for which Melanie has acted as senior counsel include: Melanie Ronen is a shareholder of Keesal, Young & Logan in its Long Beach office. Her practice focuses on labour law disputes and consultation issues. When Melanie Morales started at Rutgers Law School three years ago, she knew she wanted to be a public defender. She joined the criminal and juvenile justice clinic, where she met with juvenile clients in juvenile detention centers, prepared clients for trial, and even visited the places where their clients were arrested. His knowledge of Spanish also proved useful. She has worked on remission appeals, immigration cases and gained court experience appearing before the Essex County Special Court for Remand.
Melanie is also proud to serve on the Board of Directors of Ronald McDonald House Long Beach since 2014. From 2017 to 2019, she was Secretary of the Board of Directors. She is the current Vice-President of Administration.