Melissa A. Parham,  Associate

Melissa Parham practices in the area of civil litigation.  Before joining the Firm in 2011, Ms. Parham worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals/Capital Litigation section of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where she represented the State in felony criminal appeals and appeals of death penalty cases in state court and in federal court in habeas corpus proceedings and appeals thereof.  She also represented the State in capital post-conviction relief proceedings.  Ms. Parham has argued cases in both the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court.  She has drafted numerous appellate briefs and answers to petitions for writ of habeas corpus.

A number of the cases in which Ms. Parham was involved as an appellate prosecutor resulted in published opinions: State v. Cropper, 223 Ariz. 522, 225 P.3d 579 (2010); State v. Freeney, 223 Ariz. 110, 219 P.3d 1039 (2009); State v. Starr, 222 Ariz. 65, 213 P.3d 214 (App. 2009); State v. Martinez, 221 Ariz. 383, 212 P.3d 75 (App. 2009); State v. Palmer, 219 Ariz. 451, 199 P.3d 706 (App. 2008)

Ms. Parham was born and raised in Phoenix.  She received a B.A. from Smith College in 2004 and a J.D. cum laude in 2007 from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.  There she was a Note and Comment Editor for The Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy.  Ms. Parham worked as a law clerk at the Alexandria, Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office from 2005-2007 and interned for a Fairfax County, Virginia Circuit Court Judge during the summer of 2005.  She is licensed to practice law in Arizona and is admitted before the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.