Melissa Muro LaMere is an employment and business litigation attorney, licensed to practice in Minnesota. She has extensive experience helping clients protect and grow their business in a competitive marketplace. She focuses her practice on the full spectrum of employment counseling and litigation matters in addition to business disputes involving non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, trade secrets, business contracts and torts, and unfair competition and trade practices. Melissa’s clients include multinational corporations, small businesses, and individuals, and she often serves as a trusted advisor in a wide variety of litigation matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts, arbitration, and mediation.
Melissa previously served on the board of the Minnesota Infinity Project, an organization focused on gender disparity on the bench throughout the Eighth Circuit, and on the board of the Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association, for which she also served as the co-chair of the Judicial Endorsements Committee. In 2019, Melissa was appointed by Minnesota Governor Walz and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Flanagan to the Commission on Judicial Selection.
Before becoming an attorney, Melissa held various positions in the Office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Represented healthcare client in dispute with former employee alleging disability discrimination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate claims
Extensive experience defending business clients before EEOC and state agency in response to allegations of discrimination from current and former employees
Represented American medical device company in its defense of allegations of trade secrets misappropriation, tortious interference with a contract, civil conspiracy, and copyright infringement
Represented American medical device company in the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing for affirmation of a District Court ruling involving whether an executed offer letter, employee agreement, and repayment agreement comprised a single contract, such that the forum clause in employee agreement governed disputes arising out of or related to any of the three documents
Represented individual in the State of Minnesota Court of Appeals regarding a trial court’s decision to suppress evidence against a criminal defendant based on law enforcement officers' failure to provide him with a Miranda warning during custodial interrogation
Represented computer consulting company in its pursuit of a temporary restraining order barring a former employee from further breaching restrictive covenants by soliciting client's customers and employees on behalf of new employer
Represented computer consulting company in its defense of a non-compete dispute related to forum selection clause in employment agreement
Represented 17 amici curiae in case involving application of the Single Subject and Title Clause of Minnesota Constitution
Represented a significant American manufacturer of paint and coatings in its pursuit to remand a non-compete dispute to state court, in a case involving forum selection clause in defendant's employment agreement, and whether it constituted a "clear and unequivocal" waiver of his right to remove to federal court
Represented multi-strategy platform hedge fund in its defense of a trade secret/non-compete dispute involving stock trading
Utilized extensive subject-matter knowledge to assist firm client teams with several disputes related to noncompete agreements on behalf of a major medical device manufacturer client
Represented and conducted extensive discovery for a client in a matter involving former employees misappropriating confidential information for the benefit of their new employer
University of Minnesota Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2012)
Minnesota Journal of International Law, Editor
Human Rights Litigation & International Legal Advocacy Clinic, Student Director
Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association Mentorship Program, Member
Latino Law Student Alliance, Member
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (B.A., Economics with quantitative emphasis, 2009)
Federal Bar Association, Minnesota Chapter
Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection, Fourth Judicial District Member (2019-2023)
Hispanic National Bar Association, Latina Commission (2019-2020)
"Settling Disputes Through Early Mediation," Co-Presenter, Minnesota State Bar Association (February 14, 2023)
"Commencing the Action," Co-Author, Minnesota Litigation Forms Deskbook, Minnesota CLE (June 30, 2022)
"Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Remote and Hybrid Workplaces," Presenter, Minneapolis Regional Healthcare Compliance Conference (September 16, 2022)
"DEI Issues in a Hybrid Workplace – How to Create an Even Playing Field for Reward and Advancement Regardless of Variables," Co-Moderator, ACC-MN Annual Conference (June 16, 2022)
"Effective DEI Solutions in Remote and Hybrid Workplaces," Moderator, National Hispanic Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference (March 25, 2022)
The Best Lawyers in America®: Ones to Watch, Commercial Litigation & Litigation – Labor and Employment (2021-2024), Product Liability Litigation – Defendants (2024)