Melanie L. Thomas is a partner in the Las Vegas office of Lewis Brisbois and a member of the Healthcare, Medical Malpractice, and Long-Term Care Practices. She practices in the area of healthcare law which includes the defense of healthcare providers and medical facilities in medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuits. Ms. Thomas has successful first chair trial and arbitration experience, significant mediation experience, and experience in representing healthcare providers in regulatory matters before state boards.

Throughout her legal career, Ms. Thomas has litigated a variety of matters including insurance defense, personal injuries, wrongful death, premises liability, and § 1983 claims. Her experience includes representing individuals and businesses, both on the plaintiff and defense side. Additionally, Ms. Thomas has extensive experience handling all aspects of a claim, including independently managing discovery and trial preparation needs. She has successfully obtained summary judgment on behalf of her clients on numerous occasions.

Ms. Thomas began her legal career as a paralegal in Detroit, Michigan at one of Michigan’s largest, premier insurance defense law firms in the Complex Litigation, Product Liability practice group, where she continued to become a law clerk upon entering law school. Upon graduation, she moved to southern Nevada where she became licensed and focused her practice solely on defending healthcare providers in medical negligence litigation. Several years later, Ms. Thomas switched sides and represented individuals in various high stakes, personal injury related litigation. She developed strategies and insight into the plaintiff attorney mindset, which she brought back with her a few years later after realizing her most fulfilling work had been in the defense of Nevada’s healthcare providers. She returned to Lewis Brisbois where she has since provided defense to claims against these providers before their respective licensing boards and before the Courts of law in this State.

Admissions

• State Bar Admissions
  • Nevada
• United States District Courts
  • United States District Court for the District of Nevada
• United States Courts of Appeals
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Admissions

Nevada

United States District Court, District of Nevada

Associations

• State Bar of Nevada
• Clark County Bar Association
• American Inns of Court–Howard D. McKibben Inn, 2013-2020
• Pi Beta Phi–Alumnae Member, 2004

Awards & Honors

• Rising Stars, Super Lawyers Mountain States, 2020, 2021, 2022
• Top 100 Lawyers in Las Vegas, MyVegas Magazine, 2015

Education

Western Michigan University, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, Lansing, Michigan

Juris Doctor, 2011

Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan

Bachelor of Science in Political Science, 2004