Melissa L. Thevenot

Melissa L. Thevenot

Associate

Background

Melissa Thevenot brings a history with tribal organizations and transactional matters to her gaming practice. She has experience with advising Indian gaming enterprises on compliance with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, fee-to-trust applications and acquisitions for tribal land recovery, federal recognition and Indian lands gaming eligibility, developer agreements and researching and preparing trial documents.

Before joining the firm, Melissa served at the National Indian Gaming Commission as a staff attorney, clerked at Anderson Indian Law and Homer Law firms in Washington, D.C., was a legal intern in the Department of the Interior’s Office of Indian Gaming and interned with the Oglala Sioux Tribe Legal Department, where she furthered economic development initiatives for the Pine Ridge Reservation. She was also, while in law school, a judicial intern for Magistrate Judge John M. Bodenhausen of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and a research assistant for law and economics Professor Gerrit De Geest.

Insights & Publications

Credentials

Education

  • J.D., 2017, Washington University School of Law
  • B.A., 2012, University of Maryland, College Park

Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • New Jersey
  • New York

Memberships

Executive Board Member, Native American Bar Association of D.C.

Recognition

AWARDS:

"Melissa is very tactical and knowledgeable." – Chambers USA, 2024

"Accessibility and willingness to help are huge qualities of Melissa. She also has extremely strong subject matter knowledge and ability." – Chambers USA, 2023

Chambers USA, Associates to Watch, 2022-2024

CALI Award, Domestic Violence & the Law, Spring 2016

Public Interest Law Certificate

Dean’s Award for Public Service