Melissa Fallah - Toxic Tort Attorney - Maron Marvel

Melissa M. Fallah She/Her

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Chicago
191 North Wacker Drive
Suite 2950
Chicago, IL 60606

P (312) 579-2011 Fax (312) 579-3144

St. Louis
7711 Bonhomme Avenue
Suite 650
St. Louis, MO 63105

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Melissa Fallah represents corporate clients in all aspects of product liability litigation.

Melissa concentrates her practice in product liability, premises liability and toxic tort exposure claims pending throughout the United States. She serves as national coordinating counsel, regional counsel, local counsel and trial counsel in mass tort and toxic exposure cases. Her experience includes all aspects of pre-trial and trial work before state and federal courts across the country.  She also provides risk analysis and assessment in her work guiding national defense strategy and mitigating litigation on behalf of clients.

Melissa Fallah believes it is an honor to be someone’s lawyer. As a result, her clients consider her a trusted confidant and advisor.  They know they can call upon her to counsel them regarding any situation or problem.

Melissa treats her clients’ businesses like her own. To that end, she employs creative approaches to avoid or reduce the impact of litigation.  This results in her clients being dismissed from cases or settled early in the lawsuit. Her passion for resolving matters and negotiating has reduced many of her clients’ indemnity costs by half.

Melissa serves as part of Maron Marvel’s national coordinating counsel and litigation risk management teams.  She handles the defense of product liability and mass and toxic tort lawsuits concerning benzene and asbestos exposures throughout the United States. She represents product manufacturers, industrial and commercial enterprises, and premises owners in complex, multiple-defendant litigation in Illinois, Missouri and New York. She has a wealth of experience managing litigation pending in some of the country’s worst judicial jurisdictions, such as Cook County and Madison County, Illinois.

Rounding out her practice, Melissa also defends insurers and self-insured organizations in general liability and casualty claims concerning personal injury and property damage attributed to negligence or catastrophic events.

Melissa is devoted to giving back to the community and the legal profession. She dedicates numerous hours to pro bono work representing immigrants seeking asylum in the United States. Melissa volunteers for organizations that help the underrepresented in Chicago.  She is an avid supporter of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and given many seminars on the topic. Melissa chairs the firm’s Attorney Development Committee, serves on Maron Marvel’s DEI Committee and Marketing Committee, and mentors junior attorneys.

Education

Washington University School of Law (J.D., 2001)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.A. in English and Political Science, 1998)

Professional Recognition

Leading Lawyer, Leading Lawyers, 2017-2023 for Toxic Torts Defense Law; Products Liability Defense Law

Selected to Illinois Super Lawyers: 2022 – 2024

Emerging Lawyer, Leading Lawyers, 2015-2016 for Toxic Torts Defense Law; Products Liability Defense Law

Selected to Ilinois Rising Stars: 2011, 2016

 

Published Articles/Speaking Engagements

Speaker, “Women’s Breakfast: Women’s Issues in the Legal Field and Leadership,” Perrin Talc Litigation Conference, June 1, 2023.

Speaker, “International Exposures to Asbestos,” DRI: Asbestos Medicine, 2016.

Panelist, “The Evolution of the Asbestos Defense Model: Effectiveness, Cost and Impact on the Future,” Perrin Cutting-Edge Issues in Asbestos Litigation Conference, March 2018.

Speaker, “Insights on Diversity in the Legal Community – Law Firm Perspective,” Perrin Diversity & Inclusion in the Legal Industry Conference, November 2018.

Speaker, “Wellness in the Legal Profession”Perrin Conference Webinar, April 2020.

Organizations/Committee Memberships

Chicago Bar Association

Chicago Bar Association, YLS Law Explorers Committee, Co-Chair

Chicago Bar Association, YLS Women in Law Committee, Co-Chair

Chicago Bar Association, Special Projects Coordinator

Admissions

Illinois
Missouri
New York
Supreme Court of Illinois
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois