Melissa M. Ferrara

Melissa brings a unique perspective to her employment practice, born from several years spent working for the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) and the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC). As a labor relations analyst, then consultant, for NJSBA, she analyzed contract and settlement information for New Jersey’s school districts, analyzed PERC decisions and pertinent legislation to determine their implications for labor relations, and was the project manager for both The PERC Index and Negotiation Advisor Online. As a PERC Staff Agent, Melissa conducted union elections, mediated and adjudicated unfair labor practice charges and representation disputes, and drafted decisions for the Commission and the Director of Unfair Practices and Representation.

During law school at Seton Hall University — where she was the Comment Editor of the Seton Hall Law Review and earned the Chancellor Scholarship — Melissa held a judicial internship with the Hon. Freda L. Wolfson in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. After she earned her J.D. in 2012, Melissa clerked for the Hon. Georgia M. Curio in the Superior Court of New Jersey, where she researched and drafted memoranda on complex civil matters and mediated Special Civil Part disputes. She graduated from Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations with a Master’s of Arts degree in Labor and Employment Relations.