MELANIE GIRTON

Melanie Girton is a business counselor who advises on transactional matters relating to various aspects of commercial operations, including the review and negotiation of contracts, small business structuring and privacy matters. She has advised clients ranging from individuals to Fortune 100 companies.

Ms. Girton began her career at Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP as a corporate associate in 1997. While there, she gained experience in general corporate practice, particularly in trademark licensing, limited liability company agreements, mergers and acquisitions and securities, and began to understand the importance of how to clearly communicate legal concepts to clients. Her first major deal was the then-largest fashion trademark license between Liz Claiborne Inc. and DKNY Jeans, which formed a strategic alliance between the companies to market activewear and jeans.

Ms. Girton continued her career as in-house counsel for Warner Music Group Inc., where she assisted with employment matters, privacy issues, digital music licensing and joint ventures and gained a greater appreciation for the kind of fast-paced, big-picture advice required by today's business clients. Ms. Girton participated in efforts across the constituent companies of Time Warner to consolidate best practices in digital privacy and protection and designed an improved workflow for high-volume agreement traffic. Ms. Girton also participated in various panels and organizations relating to the the industry.

In 2003, Ms. Girton left to practice independently, continuing to advise WMG as outside counsel, as well as other clients. Ms. Girton has also practiced law for fashion, media and financial services clients through Axiom Legal, providing legal overview on a broad variety of issues, including corporate governance, sweepstakes, web marketing and development, events and employment.

Ms. Girton is a graduate of the University of Southern California and a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the New York Law School, where she was an officer of the Media Law Project and an articles editor of the Law Review. Ms. Girton is a member of the ABA and its sections on Sports and Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law. She is admitted to practice in New York.

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