Melissa J. Whitney is an associate in the Complex Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property & Media practice groups in Weil’s New York office. In addition to litigation matters based on breach of contract, Ms. Whitney’s practice focuses on intellectual property, including copyright, music licensing, data privacy, and false advertising and unfair competition issues. She has represented clients in a broad range of industries, including media and entertainment, advertising, technology, pharmaceutical, private equity, and financial services.
Through her pro bono work at the firm and with The List Project, Ms. Whitney has successfully assisted Iraqis who aided the Allied Forces in obtaining visas and safely relocating their families out of harm’s way. Ms. Whitney is an active member of Weil’s Disaster Assistance Team and assists NY residents affected by Hurricane Sandy in obtaining federal, local, and state aid. She has also provided pro bono services through her work with such organizations as Save the Children, the Legal Aid Society, Election Protection, and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.
Ms. Whitney has appeared as a panelist for the American Bar Association’s Consumer Protection Update and is a member of the American Bar Association and New York City Bar.
Ms. Whitney graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Biostatistics and German. She received her JD from Boston College Law School, where she graduated summa cum laude and served as Executive Articles Editor of the Boston College Law Review.
Prior to practicing law, Ms. Whitney completed a PhD in Biostatistics at Harvard University, where her research focused on improving methodology for conducting environmental health risk assessments, as well as analyzing epidemiology, toxicology, and clinical trial data for a variety of studies.
Ms. Whitney’s background uniquely positions her to communicate effectively with expert witnesses and explain complex statistical and scientific concepts to non-technical audiences.