Melissa A. Macchia

Melissa serves as the Employment and Labor Relations practice group lead for the Indianapolis office and is also a member of Taft’s Commercial Litigation practice group. She focuses her practice primarily in the areas of employment-related matters and litigation, as well as complex commercial litigation. Melissa has successfully handled a variety of significant matters involving employment disputes, restrictive covenant and trade secret claims, litigation arising from mergers, acquisitions and other strategic transactions, commercial contracts, and shareholder disputes.

One focus of Melissa’s practice is on employment law, with a particular emphasis on the prevention and defense of employment-based litigation. She has represented governmental and private clients in workplace discrimination litigation, policy formulation, and employment-related investigations. Melissa routinely advises clients on issues surrounding employment-related agreements and restrictive covenants, best practices in hiring, discipline and terminations, reductions in force, wage and hour matters, employee compensation, medical leave, and accommodations. Melissa also negotiates employment-based contracts and issues in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. She also frequently provides clients with in-house training on workplace best practices, harassment, medical leave, and conducting internal investigations.

Melissa also has extensive experience with complex commercial litigation matters and business disputes, including matters involving restrictive covenants and trade secret misappropriation, business transaction disputes, general commercial contract claims, and shareholder disputes. Melissa’s work in this area focuses on advising and representing a wide variety of businesses throughout all stages of the litigation and appellate processes, as well as early dispute resolution, preliminary injunctions, electronic discovery matters, and other strategic litigation decisions.

Melissa is recognized as one of the "Ones to Watch" by Best Lawyers in America® for trusts for litigation - labor and employment and as a Rising Star by Indiana Super Lawyers for employment and labor. She was also selected as the winner in the law category at the 2021 Best & Brightest Awards.