Cherylee O. Melcher

Cherylee O. Melcher is counsel in the Princeton, N.J. office  of Hill Wallack LLP where she is a member of the Litigation Division, Trial & Insurance Defense and Insurance Coverage practice groups.

Ms. Melcher focuses her practice in the defense and representation of insurance companies and their insureds in complex claims and litigation primarily in Title 59 and civil rights matters. She also handles insurance coverage disputes evolving from various types of policies including commercial general liability; employment practices liability; homeowners’; business automobile; personal automobile; and workers’ compensation.

Ms. Melcher emphasizes her litigation on matters involving catastrophic personal injury; wrongful death; products liability; and the defense of various types of public entities including municipalities, local boards of education, public housing authorities and their employees.  Her primary concentration involves defending claims of physical and sexual assault; harassment, intimidation and bullying; negligent supervision; and negligent hiring, retention and training claims against school districts.

In addition, she frequently appears in state and federal court for all phases of litigation, including trial and alternate dispute resolution proceedings. She has successfully argued before the Appellate Division affirming the trial court’s ruling that a Board of Education was not liable for claims of pain and suffering under Title 59.

Ms. Melcher is admitted to practice in the State of New Jersey (2003), the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2004) and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (2003). She earned her law degree from Villanova University School of Law, and she is a magna cum laude graduate of Monmouth University. Ms. Melcher has served on the District VII Ethics Committee since 2017. Prior to joining Hill Wallack LLP, Ms. Melcher served as a judicial law clerk in the Family Division for the Superior Court of New Jersey.