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Nomination of Melissa Felder Zappala to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Friday, May 25, 2018

The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission (Commission) is pleased to announce the nomination of Melissa Felder Zappala to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, filling a judicial vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable Russell F. Canan.  

On March 14, 2018, the Commission submitted to the President a list of three candidates for his consideration in selecting a nominee to fill this judicial vacancy. Pursuant to D.C. Code § 1-204.34(d)(1), the President must select a nominee within 60 days. If the President does not do so, the Commission is required to nominate one of the three candidates it had recommended to the President, and, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint that person to fill the vacancy. The deadline for making a nomination for this judicial vacancy was May 13, 2018. The President has not made a nomination, and so the Commission chose a nominee. On May 25, 2018, the Commission transmitted its nomination of Ms. Zappala to the United States Senate.

Ms. Zappala is a partner at Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, where she focuses on complex commercial litigation. Ms. Zappala joined Boies Schiller in 2005, where she has remained, with the exception of a judicial clerkship from 2007 to 2008.  Ms. Zappala’s cases include securities, antitrust, and class actions in both federal and state courts. She was recognized by the National Law Journal in 2015 as one of the District of Columbia area’s top 40 lawyers under 40, and she has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and has led several pro bono matters throughout her career. Ms. Zappala received her Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Yale University in 2002 and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She also received a Harry S. Truman Scholarship in 2001 for her commitment to public service. Ms. Zappala earned her law degree, magna cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center in 2005, where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar. Ms. Zappala has previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Henry H. Kennedy of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.  

Please direct any questions to the Commission’s Executive Director at (202) 879-0478 or [email protected].  
 

 

 Members of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission

Honorable Emmet G. Sullivan, Chair
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States Courthouse
333 Constitution Avenue, NW
Chambers 4935-Annex
Washington, DC  20001
(202) 354-3260
[email protected]

Ronald S. Flagg, Esq.
Legal Services Corporation
3333 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 295-1620
[email protected]

Mr. William Lucy
1831 Sudbury Lane, NW
Washington, DC  20012
(301) 520-0576
[email protected]

John J. McAvoy, Esq.
3110 Brandywine Street, NW
Washington, DC  20008
(202) 966-8544
[email protected]

Addy R. Schmitt, Esq.
Miller & Chevalier, Chtd.
900 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202)626-5837
[email protected]

The Honorable Marie C. Johns
Leftwich LLC
1400 K Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005-2403
(202) 434-9124
[email protected]

Benjamin F. Wilson, Esq.
Beveridge & Diamond, PC
1350 I St NW, #700
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 789-6023
[email protected]