About Melanie J.
Melanie J. McClure began her legal path in the Midwest. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa in 1988 and completed her J.D. at the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1994. Those formative years prepared her for work both in-house and at law firms.
Her early professional years were spent inside a large communications company. In 1997 she served as a staff lawyer at Alltel Communications, Inc., handling day-to-day legal tasks that supported a sprawling operations team. That role led to further in-house responsibility and a return to Alltel in a more senior capacity years later.
Between those stints at Alltel she moved into private practice. In 2000 she joined the Employment Law Group at Davis Wright Tremaine as a senior associate. There she worked on employment-related matters for corporate clients, developing courtroom and advisory experience. In 2002 she returned to Alltel as a senior staff lawyer in employee relations, a position that combined litigation risk management with policy work and advising human resources partners.
By 2008 McClure shifted back to private practice and began a new chapter at Cox & Sterling, P.L.L.C. Her time in both corporate and firm settings gives her an unusual perspective. She knows how legal advice is used inside a business. She also understands the rhythms of client service at a law firm.
McClure is admitted to practice in Arkansas and Washington. She has been a member of the Arkansas Bar Association since 1997 and retains memberships in the Pulaski County Bar Association and the Central Arkansas Human Resources Association. Those ties reflect a career spent largely on employment, labor and employee-relations matters, and they connect her to both legal and human-resources communities in the region.
Colleagues describe her as methodical and practical in approach. She tends to prioritize clear advice and manageable risk assessments. Her background—years inside a corporate legal department combined with experience at a Seattle-based firm and subsequent private-practice work—gives her a range that serves employers and HR professionals well.
She currently practices at Cox & Sterling, P.L.L.C., handling employment and employee-relations matters for clients in Arkansas and Washington.
