Melissa Reilly is an associate in the Business Litigation Group, Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies Group, and Cannabis Group. She advocates on behalf of cannabis clients and is a thought leader on municipal rights and obligations under New Jersey’s adult-use cannabis statutes and regulations. Melissa also advises clients on the cannabis application process, compliance matters, corporate formation, and funding. She additionally handles complex litigation matters with a focus on class action defense, contract disputes, legal malpractice defense, and matters implicating ERISA.
Melissa is a Trustee and Secretary of the Rutgers Law School Alumni Association where she co-chairs the Mentoring Committee and the Young Alumni Committee. She is also on the Executive Committee of the Rutgers Law Alumnae Association.
Melissa received her BA from Towson University where she was a double major in International Studies and Political Science. She received her JD, cum laude, from Rutgers Law School (Newark), where she was President of the Student Bar Association. She was also an Immigrant Rights Fellow and participated in the Immigrant Rights Clinic, where she assisted clients seeking entry into the United States for fear-based claims.
In addition to judicial internships while at Rutgers Law, Melissa served as an intern for Safe Horizon, working in the anti-trafficking program to assist survivors of human trafficking reclaim their legal rights.
