Melissa Padilla

Legal Fellow @National Student Legal Defense Network

Washington, DC, US

Litigation: Spearhead complex legal research and draft litigation documents (letters, memoranda, briefs, motions, complaints, petitions) for student debt relief and government accountability class action cases. Manage case discovery and oversee intern and paralegal contributions to strategic case development. Notable cases worked on: Dunagan et al. v. Illinois Institute of Art; National Student Legal Defense Network v. University of Maryland Global Campus; Ortiz v. Saba University School of Medicine; University of California Student Association v. U.S. Department of Education et al; NAACP et al. v. The United States of America, et a; Pallek et al. v. Secretary Rollins et al. Policy: Investigate government misconduct by submitting FOIA requests, track and monitor U.S. Department of Education regulatory action, conduct regulatory research and advocacy, draft model regulatory guidance to facilitate student access to public benefits programs, and collaborate with state and national higher education policy coalitions.

University of San Diego School of Law

Juris Doctor, Concentration in International Law

University of San Diego

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Political Science

St. Clare's, Oxford

Liberal Arts Programme

George Mason University

The Fund for American Studies, Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems