Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2024 
Melissa T. Daugherty leverages her decades of experience representing management in complex employment law matters, dispute resolution, and litigation across California and beyond. Her pragmatic yet strategic approach to both litigation and prevention sets her apart, enabling clients to navigate intricate state and federal discrimination and other claims with confidence. Known for her sharp legal insight and adaptability, Melissa partners with a diverse range of clients – ranging from family-owned businesses to multinational corporations – delivering tailored solutions that align with their unique challenges and goals.
Melissa defends clients faced with labor, employment, and third-party discrimination disputes with a strategic, results-driven approach to problem solving. Clients value her ability to anticipate legal risks and craft tailored solutions that minimize exposure oftentimes before litigation arises. She provides clear, practical legal counsel on complex compliance issues, policy drafting, and employee training, helping organizations maintain lawful and effective workplaces. Melissa’s experience navigating government investigations and enforcement actions, including before the EEOC, CRD, DOJ, and other administrative agencies, frequently ensures her clients are well-prepared and protected.
As a litigator, Melissa excels at managing high-pressure, high stakes matters, consistently securing favorable outcomes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and trial. Her clients appreciate her calm, confident courtroom presence and her ability to distill nebulous legal issues into compelling arguments in and out of court. Notably, Melissa led a successful and highly tactical defense in a high-profile sexual assault and wrongful termination case, with the verdict upheld on appeal.
Melissa’s broad industry experience spans professional services, hospitality, and technology, with a particular focus on healthcare systems. Her fluency in Americans with Disabilities Act and related statutes allows her to effectively defend clients against claims involving fair housing, website accessibility, and architectural barriers, providing comprehensive and nuanced representation.
