Ms. Melendres provides both corporate and litigation counsel to a multitude of small and large companies and governmental entities.  Ms. Melendres is a graduate of New York University School of Law.  Prior to becoming a principal of Melendres & Melendres P.C., Ms. Melendres practiced law for seven years at the Wall Street law firm of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, where she practiced litigation, corporate, regulatory, employment, and trust and estate law and was a member of the litigation department.  While at Stroock, she worked closely with corporate and financial institutions, health care corporations, insurance companies and real estate clients.  She also practiced constitutional law by representing members of the Judiciary in New York State regarding the improper linkage of salaries and benefits in violation of the Separation of Powers Doctrine and the Compensation Clause.

Ms. Melendres has extensive corporate law experience. She provides guidance to small and large corporations regarding corporate governance, corporate formation, interactions with third party providers, regulatory compliance with both federal and state laws with a special emphasis in both healthcare and privacy laws.  She also represents a wide array of real estate clients and specializes in many types of corporate real estate law, including zoning regulations, foreclosure law, and the drafting and interpretation of contracts, including leases and sublease agreements.

Ms. Melendres has public finance law experience.  She provides guidance to governmental entities on a variety of issues, including governmental entities’ federal and state tax exemption relating to bond issues and continuing disclosure.  She has served as sole bond counsel, underwriters’ counsel and disclosure counsel on a variety of issuances for municipalities and counties throughout New Mexico.

Ms. Melendres also has extensive litigation experience in numerous industries.  She has experience handling complex corporate litigation, health care litigation, commodities litigation, insurance and reinsurance litigation, employment litigation, torts and real estate litigation where she represents both individual and corporate clients.  Her practice concentrates in the uniform commercial code, general corporate compliance, healthcare law, school law, real property law, landlord/tenant law, and mortgage foreclosures.

Education and Bar Admissions

• J.D., New York University School of Law, 2007

• B.S., University of New Mexico, 2003, magna cum laude, phi beta kappa

• Admitted in New York and New Mexico

Publications

• “Partial Actual Evictions: Whose Risk and Whose Burden of Proof?” (2012 Stroock Real Estate Special Bulletin)