“ Trust your instincts , don ’ t sell yourself short and have a good sounding board , someone you trust .”
It was the women in Melissa Brown ’ s life who influenced her career path and the type of person she wanted to be . Brown , who has been a professor at McGeorge School of Law since 2008 and director of its legal clinics since 2013 , originally chose to enter the field of elder and public interest law because when she was a teenager , she was “ profoundly impacted by the way my great-grandmother was treated in a nursing home ,” she says . Seeing how the facility was understaffed and her loved one was dehumanized stuck with her . Then there was her aunt , Marijane Luna , who was the first woman public defender hired in Yolo County . “ I used to tag along with her as a teenager ,” Brown says . “ That was my first experience in a courtroom .”
Driven by a desire to help vulnerable members in the community , Brown studied political science at Chico State and earned her J . D . from Loyola Law School in 1983 . While in law school , she interned at the Los Angeles County District Attorney ’ s Office ’ s elder abuse department , worked for a senior legal services program and served as a law clerk for the Social Security Administration Office of Hearings and Appeals ( administrative law judges ), which promoted her to staff attorney when she was admitted to the bar . She opened her own practice in Pasadena for a short while before moving back to Northern California . She worked for private practices in the region and met Donald Fraulob , a lawyer at a competing firm , around that time . The two began a personal relationship ( they ’ ve been married for 21 years ) and a professional one : She joined his firm , now called Fraulob-Brown , in 1991 . Specializing in elder law , workers ’ compensation and disability benefits cases , and estate planning , it “ has pretty much wound down ” with only a few cases to finish , she says .
Brown wanted to make a shift to teaching , and McGeorge offered her a position at the school to develop professional education programs and teach in the Elder and Health Law Clinic . In addition to classroom teaching , she supervises students in providing free legal services , including litigating financial elder abuse cases and advocating for individuals experiencing homelessness . She ’ s also in charge of fundraising and grant-writing efforts .
Brown says the legal clinics , which have been around for about 40 years , used to get 20 walk-ins a day , but since the pandemic , they see clients by appointment and do hearings via videoconference calls . “ It ’ s important that vulnerable populations have access to the justice system , and it ’ s important that law students have the opportunity to experience and gain skills and expertise in areas that help people ,” she says .
Brown hopes she sets a good example , but it hasn ’ t been without challenges . During the mid-1990s to mid-2000s when she was in a statewide attorneys association , she was often one of the few women in the room , if not the only one . And she “ was bullied for many years ,” she says . The experiences led her to realize “ women have a different way of approaching problem-solving and conflict ,” using more listening and collaboration “ rather than ego and posturing .” Now that more women are in the legal profession and positions of leadership , she says those dynamics are changing .
“ When I look at the students who ’ ve come to our clinics over the years I ’ ve been here , most of them say , ‘ This is why I came to law school ,’” Brown says . “ And so this work allows me to help support that and hopefully have a broader impact as students move into their careers .”
Shoka is associate editor for Comstock ’ s magazine . She is a journalist , copy editor and photojournalist who specializes in covering arts , culture , animal rights and sustainability .
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