RÉSUMÉ


MELISSA J. SACHS 



Professional Licenses, Certifications, Trainings

Bar Memberships:    Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, State of New Jersey, District of New Jersey (2006) (Inactive)

Certified Mediator:   Pittsburgh Mediation Center, Pittsburgh, PA (May 2006)


Education

University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA (2006)

Juris Doctor and Certificate in International and Comparative Law, 3.30 G.P.A.

  • School of Law Community Service Award

  • Semester Honors Spring 2004, Fall 2004, and Spring 2006

  • Election Protection Coalition; Client Counseling Competition

  • National Lawyers’ Guild, Member; Phi Alpha Delta, Member; Pitt Women’s Law Association, Member


University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (2003)

Bachelor of Arts, English Language and Literature, Minor in Economics, 3.31 G.P.A.

  • Office of New Student Programs, Academic and Social Peer Mentor; Services for Students with Disabilities; Delta Phi Epsilon, Coordinator of Fundraising


Computer Skills

Software: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, and Acrobat; eEmpact; Microsoft Office

Coding Languages: HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and MySql

Research: LexisNexis and WestLaw


Work Experience

Common Vision LLC, Port Penn, DE (March 2008 – Present)

Member

  • Serve as Editor-in-Chief for online pop culture magazine  (http://www.nonpretentious.com)

  • Develop, write, and publish articles on literature, law, technology, and pop culture

  • Source talent to contribute to website and manage all contributors

  • Maintain, organize, and develop back-end of website

     

JuriStaff Legal Staffing, Philadelphia, PA (April 2007 – January 2009)

Attorney Recruiter

  • Recruited attorneys for clients including, but not limited to, AMLAW 100 and AMLAW 200 firms, investment banks, and financial companies

  • Responsible for all aspects of attorney placements including identifying and actively recruiting candidates, conducting behavioral-based interviews, scheduling candidate and client interviews, and negotiating compensation


Silver and Silver, Ardmore, PA (November 2006 – March 2007)

Part-time Attorney

  • Compiled social security claimants’ medical histories and prepared requests for administrative approval of social security benefits

  • Assisted in trial preparation and drafted pleadings, settlement demands, motions, and memoranda of law


Sidney L. Gold and Associates, Philadelphia, PA (July 2006 – November 2006)

Law Clerk and Associate

  • Prepared legal memoranda regarding various employment and bankruptcy issues under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the Whistleblower’s Protection Act, and the Bankruptcy Code

  • Drafted charges, complaints, motions, memoranda of law, a brief to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, and an executive employment agreement

  • Corresponded with clients regarding discovery requests and conducted client intake interviews

  • Represented clients before the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission


City of Pittsburgh Law Department, Pittsburgh, PA (May 2005-May 2006)

Certified Legal Intern

  • Prepared appellate brief for the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania and a City policy on municipal employees‘ cell phone use in vehicles for the City Solicitor

  • Drafted City contracts, licenses, resolutions, ordinances, responses to Right-To-Know Act requests, and various legal memoranda on governmental immunity, tort liability, and labor and employment issues under the United States Constitution, the Civil Service Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and Title VII

  • Represented City in administrative tax appeals and in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas


Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, Joseph, OR (October 2004 – April 2006)

Virtual Legal Intern

  • Recruited law student interns to research women’s rights and judicial autonomy in Haiti

  • Coordinated a speaker-series that featured attorneys speaking on human rights issues around the world

  • Coordinated an internet fundraising campaign that raised over $1,000 in donations


Guild Law Center for Social and Economic Justice, Detroit, MI (May 2004 – August 2004)

Legal Extern

  • Researched and drafted legal memoranda on various living wage ordinances enacted throughout the United States and workers' rights under state and federal Whistleblower Protection Acts

  • Drafted an intake questionnaire and conducted client interviews to prepare for a union-side class action suit


Teaching Experience

University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, PA (August 2004 – May 2006)

Legal Writing Teaching Assistant, Professor Marvin Fein

  • Selected to be one of five students in the Teaching Assistant course during the 2004 – 2005 academic school year

  • Advised first-year students on legal writing, research, blue book citations, and oral argument skills


Prison Creative Arts Project, Ann Arbor, MI (October 2001 – August 2004)

Workshop Facilitator

  • Facilitated improvisation theater and creative writing workshops for incarcerated youths and adults

GED/Adult Basic Education (“ABE”) Tutor

  • Volunteered to tutor one-on-one GED/ABE training to inmates in the areas of vocabulary, mathematics, reading comprehension, spelling, and grammar


Sales Experience

Vector Marketing, Ann Arbor, MI (Summer 2002)

Independent Contractor

  • Personally produced over $11,000 in retail sales in direct sales of Cutco products,

  • Established success principles of salesmanship (e.g. product conviction, referral system, phone skills, paid business conferences, public speaking, field training)

  • Selected to be a member of the Key Staff team at the Ann Arbor office to plan group meetings

  • Promoted five times in the course of three months


Southwestern Company, Nashville, TN (Summer 2000)

Independent Contractor

  • Personally produced $12,490 in retail sales in direct sales of educational products

  • Established success principles of salesmanship (e.g. schedule, attitude, closes, goal setting, motivation)

  • Executed all ordering, inventory, accounting, scheduling, presentation, sales, and delivery of products in personal business in Novato, California

Languages

French: Basic reading, writing, and speaking

Spanish: Basic reading, writing, and speaking