Melissa Felder Zappala⏐Partner

Melissa Felder Zappala is an experienced trial lawyer who focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, including antitrust, class actions, and business tort disputes. Over the last twenty years, she has anchored high-stakes trial teams for industry giants, including major technology companies. Outside of the courtroom, she has extensive experience conducting internal investigations for top corporations.

Some of her most notable victories include representing Qualcomm in Qualcomm v. Arm, where Qualcomm secured a jury verdict in a case worth tens of billions of dollars with far-reaching consequences for innovation and competition. She also represented Uber in Waymo v. Uber, a hotly contested trade secrets case regarding the future of self-driving cars, as well as in Malden v. Uber, where she was part of the team that secured a complete victory on behalf of Uber against plaintiffs asserting unfair competition claims and seeking over $750 million in damages. 

Melissa has also represented numerous financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies over the course of her career, including one in a month-long trial in California state court involving alleged contractual breaches. Additionally, she has represented several clients in confidential arbitrations and secured favorable arbitral awards. 

Melissa is also committed to pro bono work. She currently serves on the Board of the Neighborhood Legal Services Program, and has previously served on the boards of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and Gaylaw. She has also taken on a number of pro bono cases involving disability rights and housing issues.

She was recognized by The National Law Journal in 2015 as one of the DC area’s top 40 lawyers under 40, and has been featured in articles published in the ABA Journal and The American Lawyer.