Donald (a.k.a. DJ) is a Louisiana native. He grew up in the New Orleans area and attended Jesuit High School. After graduation, DJ moved to Baton Rouge to attend Louisiana State University, where he earned a B.A. in political science. He then attended LSU, Paul M. Hebert School of Law, taking leadership positions in Phi Delta Phi, Phi Alpha Delta, and the Student Bar Association. Upon earning his JD and BCL, DJ headed for California to continue his legal studies. He earned his LL.M. in transnational business practice in a dual program involving work and study at both the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and the University of Salzburg, in Austria. DJ then worked at large, multinational law firms in both Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Los Angeles, California. He has recently moved back home to New Orleans, and has opened his own law firm, The Law Offices of Donald J. Melancon, L.L.C.

Areas of Practice

• Admiralty & Maritime Law
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Antitrust & Trade Regulation
• Bankruptcy Law
• Business & Commercial Law
• Contracts
• Franchising
• Business Organizations
• Sexual Harassment
• Criminal Law
• DUI/DWI
• Entertainment, Sports & Leisure Law
• Environmental Law
• Estate Planning
• Trusts
• Wills
• Family Law
• International Law
• Motor Vehicle Accidents -- Plaintiff
• Probate & Estate Administration
• Products Liability Law
• Real Estate Law
• Landlord/Tenant
• Toxic Torts
• Workers' Compensation Law

Bar Admissions

• Louisiana, 2005
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2008
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 2008

Education

• Louisiana State University Law Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May, 2005
  JD, BCL
  
  
• McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific, Sacramento, California, May, 2006
  LL.M.
  Honors: Magna Cum Laude
  
  
• Jesuit High School, New Orleans, Louisiana, May, 1998
  high school diploma
  Honors: Cum Laude
  
  
• Louisiana State University, A & M, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, May, 2002
  B.A.
  Major: political science
  
  
• Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, December, 2000
  earned credits
  
  
• Universitat Salzburg, Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria, May, 2006
  LL.M.
  Honors: Magna Cum Laude
  
  

Published Works

• Sustainable Rainforest: Precious Resources for Tomorrow, International Environmental Law Committee Newsletter, Vol. 8, No. 2, August, 2006

Professional Associations and Memberships

• New Orleans Bar Association, January 15, 2008 - Present
  active member
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, LLP, paralegal, July 1, 2006 - January 1, 2007
• Girardi & Keese, paralegal, May 1, 2007 - September 1, 2007

Languages

• Brazilian Portuguese

Fraternities/Sororities

• Pi Kappa Phi
• Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity
• Alpha Lambda Delta
• Phi Delta Phi

Birth Information

• March 5, 1980, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America