Melanie Elturk

• CEO and co-founder of Haute Hijab, the largest US hijab brand • Modest fashion industry expert • Regular contributor on ELLE.com • Featured in the New York Times, Glamour, InStyle, Vogue Arabia, NBC Today, USA Today, PopSugar and others

• Draft and publish judgments and opinions for three judges • Extensive legal research within the DIFC and Common Law • Deal with cases in the DIFC Court of First Instance, Small Claims Tribunal and Court of Appeals • Attend hearings and trials

• Draft employee agreements, vendor contracts, press releases, website terms of service and privacy policy. • Incorporated company into a Delaware S-corporation and drafted bylaws. • Dealt with day-to-day operations and legal functions of the corporation.

• Worked on MECCA and MCAWS masjid cases that were approved by the DuPage County Zoning board. • Drafted and worked on complaints, motions and memorandum on zoning and land use cases. • Conducted case intake and researched legal issues and causes of action.

• Project Manager of Safe Spaces - produced and adopted religious accommodation policies in the workplace. • Created an Employer Handbook on Religious Accommodation elucidating the law and Islamic practices. • Conducted case intake and worked on immigration cases. • Conducted press conferences, wrote press releases, spoke at schools, mosques, attended ALPACT meetings. • Press interviews include Channel 2, 4, & 7 news; WDET 101.9, WJR 950; Detroit Free Press & Detroit News. • Implemented an internship program, responsible for recruiting, intern productivity and evaluations.

* Extensive training in all areas of LexisNexis including legal research, news and business, Martindale-Hubbell, public records, total litigator, etc. * Provide training and general assistance for students, professors and other faculty

* Drafted complaints, motions, requests to produce documents, answers to interrogations, etc. * Researched legal issues including statutes and case law, causes of action, jury instructions, and voir dire * Aided in trial preparation; including trial and witness books, exhibits, and witness preparation

* Helped raise awareness about the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that reached the senate * Gathered information and completed the “Documentation Project” which entailed documenting instances of discrimination against Arabs post 9/11 at the border, in immigration, with regard to erroneous and unjust imprisonment and detention, etc.

* Attended Legal Redress meetings with community and organization leaders * Served as research assistant to General Counsel Butch Hollowell * Attended the Annual 2007 Convention and the “Continuing Legal Education” courses.

* Researched relevant issues under examination by the dept. and drafted memoranda for supervising attorneys * Assisted attorneys with pre-trial litigation including discovery, interrogatories, depositions, and briefs * Areas of work included residential steering, ethnic intimidation, racial discrimination & civil rights legislation * Prepared a memo on Proposals 2’s Impact on Economic Development that was published in its entirety in “One Michigan” at the Crossroads: An Assessment of the Impact of Proposal 06-02

Mock Trial, 2007 – 2008; Fall 2007 Semi-finalist, Winter 2008 first place finalist WLAM Foundation Scholar, 2008 Ernest and Freda Goodman Scholarship, 2007 Haralambos A. Mihas Scholarship, 2006 Robert & Marie Fayz Endowed Scholarship, 2005

Presidential Merit Undergraduate Scholarship Award, 2002-2005 Dean’s List Honors 2002-2005