Melinda Meador is a highly experienced trial and appellate lawyer with a background in both civil and criminal litigation.  She began her law career in Houston, Texas, where she clerked for the First Court of Appeals, practiced as a criminal defense attorney, and did a stint as an assistant district attorney for Harris County.  After leaving Texas, she spent many years handling complex civil litigation for the federal government in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.  A graduate of the University of Tennessee Law School at Knoxville, she returned to East Tennessee in 1996, and, while continuing to handle complex civil litigation for numerous national and international companies, resumed a limited criminal defense practice. She has argued cases before the appellate courts in Tennessee, including the Tennessee Supreme Court, and before both the Third and Sixth Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeal.   She also taught Trial Practice and Advanced Trial Practice at U.T. Law School for five years.  In 2016, she and her husband moved home to her family farm in Weakley County, Tennessee.  After serving five years as an assistant district attorney in Obion County, she now focuses her practice in the areas of criminal defense and small business litigation and also serves as local counsel for larger firms needing assistance in West Tennessee.