J. Melissa Woods

Melissa Woods is of counsel in the Charlotte, North Carolina, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Her practice focuses on preventive advice and counseling, workplace investigations, and employment litigation. Melissa partners closely with HR leaders and in-house counsel to provide practical, business-oriented guidance on the day-to-day employment issues that shape organizations, and she brings the same strategic perspective when investigations or litigation require it.

Melissa directs complex employee relations investigations involving allegations of misconduct, harassment, discrimination, and policy violations, managing matters from intake through findings and remediation recommendations. She has designed and implemented standardized investigation processes for clients and regularly trains HR teams and management on investigative best practices, including issue identification, legally sound and unbiased interview techniques, and credibility assessment. Clients rely on her not simply to answer legal questions, but to translate legal risk into practical guidance that helps leaders make sound decisions.

Melissa provides comprehensive and strategic legal counsel on a wide range of employment matters, including compliance issues and regulatory requirements, workforce restructuring and reductions in force, wage and hour classification and pay practices, and the enforceability of restrictive covenants across multiple jurisdictions. She regularly drafts, reviews, and advises on workplace policies, procedures, and employee handbooks. Melissa has served as embedded legal counsel and secondee in the labor and employment divisions for a nationwide logistics company, an international pharmaceutical company, a global food and beverage company, and a global media organization, advising HR business partners and managing outside counsel.

Melissa also represents employers in employment litigation in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, with experience defending claims arising under Title VII, Title IX, the ADA, and other federal and state employment statutes. She manages all stages of litigation, from initial evaluation through discovery, depositions, motions practice, and trial, with first-chair experience. Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Melissa served as senior associate general counsel for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, where she represented the 18th largest school district in the country in an array of employment, compliance, and regulatory matters.