Melissa Deleon is the newest attorney to join the team of personal injury trial lawyers at Casey Gerry Schenk Francavilla Blatt & Penfield LLP. Deleon grew up in San Diego and attended San Diego State University, where she obtained her BA in journalism, with an emphasis in broadcast. She attended California Western School of Law and became a member of the State Bar of California in 2010.
A native San Diegan, Deleon has many leadership roles in the community and is involved in a multitude of philanthropic and professional organizations. Deleon is past president of the Filipino American Lawyers of San Diego and a current board member of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce. A proponent for diversity in the profession, she is the Vice Chair of San Diego County Bar Association’s Ethnic Relations and Diversity Committee, and will serve as the 2016 Chair. She is often asked to address diversity in the workplace and issues affecting new lawyers for organizations such as the San Diego County Bar Association and local law schools.
Deleon is also a member of the leadership team of the National Filipino American Lawyers Association and was a guest at the inaugural White House Commission of Asian American Pacific Islander’s celebration of Filipino History Month earlier this month. During her five-year tenure as a personal injury lawyer, she received the “Top Young Attorney” and Super Lawyers Rising Star awards on several occasions, San Diego County Bar Association’s Outstanding Service By a New Lawyer award, and in 2014 was named one of San Diego’s “Top 25 leaders in their 20’s.”
Deleon utilizes a background in journalism as a segment host on Asian Voices, a local television show that promotes Asian Pacific Islander communities in southern California, and as a contributing writer for the local publication, Filipino Press.