As head of the Middle East Intellectual Property Group and cohead of the International Franchise Group for Bird & Bird (MEA) LLP, Melissa advises international and regional food & beverage companies, hospitality brands and operators, developers, franchisors, and service providers on their operations in the Middle East and specifically the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. She specialises in all forms of strategic and operational licensing, intellectual property, and commercial law governing hospitality operations throughout the Gulf and Middle East.
Melissa has practised in the UAE since 2006 and she’s ranked in IP Stars, Chambers & Partners, Legal 500 and Who's Who Legal for her commercial and intellectual property experience.
Her experience includes franchising and exploitation of intellectual property rights in the hospitality, hotels, food & beverage, fashion & retail, childcare & education, real estate, sporting goods, pharmaceutical, IT services and general retail industries.
Melissa’s professional memberships include INTA, the American Bar Association as well as a number of UAE, UK, USA, and Australian business associations. She is also a member the Franchising Committee of the International Bar Association. Melissa regularly writes chapters for legal text books such as the Franchise Law Review, the Life Sciences Reviews, the Franchise Law Journal, the IBA's newsletters and Middle East journals and she’s regularly invited to speak at events throughout the GCC.
Melissa is admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland and holds an LLB from the Queensland University of Technology, Australia and a Graduate Diploma of Applied Corporate Governance. She is registered with the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, the Dubai Legal Affairs Department and the Queensland Law Society.