Melissa has over 15 years of experience as a trusted legal advisor in the investment management and capital markets industry, providing strategic advice and insight to issuers, fund managers, portfolio managers and dealers.
Melissa combines her passion for policy development, knowledge management, and client engagement with her industry expertise to stay up-to-date on the latest emerging industry trends and developments and their impact on market participants. Her expertise in this regard ranges from legal, compliance and regulatory changes to corporate governance best practices, ESG, privacy, and anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing matters.
Prior to joining BLG, Melissa was general counsel to a highly respected national portfolio management association, with over 300 member firms collectively managing over $3 trillion in assets. Melissa served as a dedicated legal and regulatory resource for member firms, drafting and developing a wide variety of legal, regulatory and compliance communications and advocacy letters. In this role, Melissa developed an excellent reputation in the industry as a highly knowledgeable speaker and author on matters of importance to investors, including on derivatives law, the importance of succession planning and compliance best practices.
Melissa also has experience as legal counsel at the Toronto Stock Exchange where she advised Listed Issuer Services and Compliance & Disclosure on a wide variety of novel legal and policy issues.
Melissa also obtained valuable experience in private practice, having practiced corporate and commercial law as well as securities law at national law firms for 6 years.