Legal All-Star – Stephanie Melnick – Melnick & Melnick

Stephanie Melnick views small businesses as the backbone of the community, which is what she focuses on at her firm, Melnick & Melnick.

“I was always interested in lifting up people, particularly women. Representing business owners empowers them to support not only themselves but also their teams and communities,” said Melnick, who took over the practice from her father, David, in 2015.

When working with clients, she specializes in copyright and trademark issues, business formation and corporate law.

“I love having a backstage pass into what, why and how our clients do what they do,” Melnick said.

Melnick empowers women business owners beyond her work with them as clients. In 2017, she launched She Stands Tall, a speaker series featuring Milwaukee women entrepreneurs. In January 2020, she helped start She Shines, a mastermind of women entrepreneurs who meet monthly and talk about issues facing Wisconsin small businesses. Nearly five years later, She Shines has five cohorts, including one for BIPOC women entrepreneurs.

In 2023, Melnick took over leadership of Women’s Entrepreneurial Week, bringing hundreds of female entrepreneurs together. Under her leadership, the event made a strong comeback after slowing in recent years due to the aftereffects of the pandemic, said Mark Goldstein of Goldstein Law Group.

“Stephanie has extended high-quality legal representation to women-owned businesses, including people of color and the LGBT community,” he said. “Beyond that, she created spaces for women small business owners to inspire, learn from and support each other. It is an entrepreneurial ecosystem that fills a void.”

Melnick credits her father, David, for being a strong role model.

“I practiced with my dad for over 25 years, so he’s been my primary mentor going back long before law school,” she said.