Melinda Garcia

Managing Shareholder
mgarcia@garciagurney.com

Biography:

Melinda Garcia, Esq. focuses on providing businesses with the legal advice and assistance they need to compete in today’s market. Ms. Garcia provides both litigation and transactional services to her clients. As a litigator, Ms. Garcia regularly appears in California state courts and private forums such as arbitrations and mediations. As a transaction lawyer, Ms. Garcia has acquired the expertise to competently advise businesses with respect to employment issues, intellectual property, business organization, real estate acquisition, commercial leasing, mergers and acquisitions, international business transactions, and other issues.

Ms. Garcia is known for her keen business sense and her ability to provide creative effective legal solutions for both businesses and individuals. Ms. Garcia believes that it is extremely important to learn as much as possible about her clients’ business needs and operating environment, and she also is a firm believer in sharing her skills and knowledge with her clients and others. For example, Ms. Garcia has educated business owners all over California with her popular lecture, “The Ten Things Every Small Business Owner Should Know.” She has also taught continuing legal education courses on the formation, taxation and operation of Limited Liability Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships in California; and she has been the key note speaker for the San Francisco Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and various local chambers of commerce and networking organizations.

A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Ms. Garcia is committed to developing network opportunities for her clients and participating in the growth of the legal and business community.

Ms. Garcia’s legal memberships include:

• The State Bar of California (Employment, Litigation, Business and Real Property Sections)
• The American Bar Association
• The Santa Clara County Bar Association
• The Eastern Alameda County Bar Association
• The Contra Costa County Bar Association
• The Hispanic National Bar Association.

Ms. Garcia’s business and chamber memberships include:

• The National Association of Women Business Owners
• The Pleasanton North Rotary Club
• The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce
• The Livermore Chamber of Commerce

Ms. Garcia also has a deep commitment to community service. She served Axis Community Health , which provides health services to the indigent, for three years as a director and as Chair of the Foundation for Axis Community Health. She is on the advisory board of the San Jose Regional Medical Center and has coached the successful Amador Valley High School Honors Mock Trial Team for the last five years. Ms. Garcia recently joined the Board of Directors of the Las Positas College Foundation.

Ms. Garcia has been continually recognized for her contributions to the legal and business communities of the Bay Area. In 2004, Ms. Garcia was named to the top "40 Under 40" list of business persons by the East Bay Business Times. In 2006, she was featured in Tri-Valley Herald newspaper by local columnist, Jim Ott, as well as an Up Close feature by the East Bay Business Times.

Ms. Garcia holds degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, and Santa Clara University School of Law. She was selected to participate in Honors Moot Court, Hispanic National Moot Court, Santa Clara University Law School Trial Team, and the American Bar Association Negotiation Team. In 1999 she received a Santa Clara University Alumni Award.