Melissa Jones is a partner in the Litigation Department of Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco and Sacramento offices. She is a member of the Firm’s Securities Litigation and White-Collar Defense Practice and Trial Practice Group. She is engaged in a commercial practice in state and federal court, with an emphasis on complex civil litigation. She has represented clients in cases involving claims of fraud, unfair competition and breach of contract, at both the trial and appellate levels. Ms. Jones has also represented individuals accused of white collar crimes and has handled a number of pro bono matters, including three arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Before joining Morrison & Foerster, Ms. Jones served as a law clerk to the Honorable Harry Pregerson, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Ms. Jones received her J.D. in 1999, from University of California, Davis School of Law (King Hall), where she was elected to the Order of the Coif. While at King Hall, Ms. Jones served as an Editor for the U.C. Davis Law Review, and published an article in that journal. Ms. Jones was named Outstanding Woman Law Student at U.C. Davis by the National Association of Women Lawyers in 1999 and was the recipient of the Wall Street Journal Award. She received her B.A. in Political Science, with highest honors, from California State University, Chico in 1995.

Ms. Jones is the Co-Chair of the Programs Committee for the Sacramento Federal Bar Association. She has also served as a Barrister in the Milton L. Schwartz American Inn of Court. In past years, Ms. Jones taught Appellate Advocacy as an Adjunct Professor and coached U.C. Davis moot court teams competing in the Jessup International Moot Court Competition.

In 2007, Ms. Jones was selected to serve as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference on behalf of the Eastern District of California.

Ms. Jones received the State Bar’s Wiley M. Manual Award for Pro Bono Legal Services in 2005 and 2007.

Representative Matters

• Lee v. Capital One Bank: Defend Capital One in consumer class action; motion to dismiss granted. Published at 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17113 (N.D. Cal. 2008)
• Oakland Raiders v. Oakland Alameda County Coliseum (OACC): participated on the trial and appellate team on behalf of OACC. The Raiders sought over one billion dollars in damages and obtained judgment of $34 million. The verdict in favor of the Raiders was fully overturned after a successful appeal by OACC. Published at 144 Cal. App. 4th 1175 (2006).
• Brocade Communications: Conducted internal investigation regarding stock option issues for Audit Committee.
• First Virtual Communications: Conducted internal investigation regarding accounting issues for Audit Committee.
• Grant Thornton LLP: Obtained favorable settlement on eve of trial in action involving claims of accounting malpractice and negligent misrepresentation/deceit.
• Clayworth v. Pfizer et al.: Represented a pharmaceutical manufacturer in an alleged price fixing case; obtained favorable settlement at early stage in the litigation.
• Internal Investigation: Conducted internal investigations for large state-wide professional association regarding accounting and employee issues.
• Pro Bono Appeal: Successful appeal in the Ninth Circuit resulting in new law concerning the imminent danger exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Published at 493 F.3d 1047.
• Criminal Defense: Assisted James Brosnahan with the successful defense of a cardiologist from Redding, California in a federal Medicare fraud case. After a year and a half of pre-indictment advocacy, the government decided not to prosecute.
• Hunter v. UPS: Obtained favorable settlement for UPS in wrongful death action on the eve of trial.
• Nugent v. UPS: Obtained favorable settlement for UPS in personal injury action after successful motion in limine on novel issue concerning a claim for bystander emotional distress.

Representative Clients

• United Parcel Service (UPS)
• Audit Committee of Brocade Communications
• The Coca-Cola Company
• Target Corporation
• Bank of America
• Capital One Bank
• Astellas Pharmaceutical
• Grant Thornton LLP
• LensCrafters
• California Dental Association
• The Dentists Insurance Company

Recent Speaking Engagements

• The Qualcomm Decision--Understanding E-Discovery Obligations, Moderator, April 2008
• Contract Litigation from A to Z in California, Lorman Educational Services, June 2006

Recent Articles

• The Ins and Outs of Internal Investigations, The Daily Recorder, Vol. 97, No. 91 (May, 10, 2007)