John Melis Email & Phone Number

1221 Oak Street, Oakland, Ca 94612

Represent the County's interests in disability retirement cases and bail bonds matters.

1221 Oak Street, Suite 450 Oakland, Ca 94612

Addressed a variety of matters for the County including amending zoning ordinances, Section 1983 prisoner litigation, filing and defending 8102 weapons petitions, handling information requests under California Labor Laws, and managing the Assisted Outpatient Treatment case load.

San Francisco Bay Area

Directly supervise two staff attorneys with a case load of approximately 70+ cases eachReview attorney briefs for legal and factual sufficiencyTrack attorney cases to ensure case development is sufficientMediate disputes between staff and clients when clients are not satisfiedServe as Officer of the Day once a week providing legal assistance to persons over the phone and to drop in clients seeking emergency legal assistanceRepresent the organization at national conferences related to our practice areaContinue to manage a case load of over 70 clients as listed in the Staff Attorney position below

785 Market Street, 10Th Floor San Francisco, Ca 94103

Evaluate and develop client claims for public disability benefits including Social Security Disability benefits and State Disability InsuranceManage a caseload of over eighty individual clients and supervise staff to assist with claimsPerform legal research, explain federal framework, and provide legal advice and counsel to clients relating to Social Security Act. Assist clients with timely filing for Social Security Disability Benefits from initial application to administrative hearing; if necessary, appeal administrative law judge's decision to Appeals CouncilDraft and timely file legal pleadings; prepare clients for testimony at hearing; represent claimants before administrative law judges; cross examine medical and vocational experts

Flood Building, 870 Market St #1228, San Francisco, Ca 94102

Drafted annual Continuum of Care grant application for two communities — two month process requiring coordination among service providers, government actors, and clientsStaffed Continuum of Care meeting including drafting meeting materials, ran Homeless Management Information System program, and provided provider technical assistance for compliance with HUD grantsSuccessfully worked with County employees to draft CalWORKs Housing Stability Program grant securing over one million dollars in fundingRan multiple consumer focus groups and issue summits as part of drafting process for five year strategic plan to end homelessness

1939 Harrison Street, Suite 500 Oakland, California 94612

Managed case load of approximately twenty cases ensuring deadlines are met and case strategy was implementedConducted civil discovery including: propounding and responding to written discovery, taking and defending oral depositions, and litigating discovery motionsConducted direct examination of expert witnesses and insurance company employees at trialMediated bad faith insurance claims and represented clients during appraisal arbitrationResearched issues relating to bad faith insurance litigation and composed firm memoranda

Sacramento, California Area

Represented public employees in discipline investigations, Skelly hearings, and arbitrationsResolved complaints of unfair labor practices before Public Employment Relations BoardFiled petitions before local agencies to determine the appropriateness of bargaining unitsMet and conferred with local agencies to resolve legal issues relating to the duty to bargainRepresented public safety union in impasse negotiations regarding memorandum of understanding implementation

Davis

Represented prisoner client in § 1983 civil rights litigationConducted deposition of hostile doctor witness at High Desert State PrisonTraveled to prisons throughout California to conduct witness interviews and client meetingsConducted federal discovery practice including taking depositions, propounding and responding to interrogatories, requests for admission, and requests for production of documents

San Francisco Bay Area

Composed memo on applicability of disgorgement remedy within Fair Labor Standards ActAssisted Department attorneys in preparing abandoned retirement plan case for federal courtAttended multiple depositions, client agency meetings, settlement conferences, administrative law judge hearings, and district court hearingsConducted legal research regarding the interpretation and implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act

San Francisco Bay Area

Conducted legal research and prepared policy memo regarding Affordable Care Act’s Individual MandateComposed traditional legal memos on topics ranging from finance reform to health reformDeveloped client health care experience narratives for presentation to California Health Exchange Board

Greater Philadelphia Area

Worked as member of SSI Outreach Access & Recovery (SOAR) Project assisting clients filing for Social Security Disability BenefitsInterviewed approximately twenty clients a month for SOAR program and managed case load of approximately fifty clientsActed as liaison to political committees that HAP is a member of, specifically Vote 4 Homes coalition, which focused on enfranchising homeless votersPlacement was acquired through participation in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp Program, a year long community service program with emphasis on social justice, simple living, and community.

Greater Chicago Area

Assisted in creating a database of wrongful conviction cases to be used as a practice guide for attorneys; attended educational lectures by practitioners about the issues involved in wrongful convictions; met with exonerees to gain an understanding of their experience.

Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Jessup International Moot Court Competition, Moot Court Board Member, Asylum Law Moot Court Competition Chair, Academic Success Program.

Bachelor'S Degree, Ba In Political Science And Bm In Voice And Opera

Activities and Societies: Senior Community Assistant