Raffi Melkonian

Attorney Profile
Top Rated Appellate Attorney in Houston, TX
Houston, TX 77056
Selected To Rising Stars: 2016
- Appellate,
- Civil Litigation: Defense (0%)
- English,
- French
Raffi has broad experience in both trial and appellate matters nationwide. He has submitted briefs and argued cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York Court of Appeals, and in the intermediate New York state appellate courts. He has also assisted on several amicus and merits briefs before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Raffi has also practiced as a commercial litigator, and in that role has assisted both in pre-trial litigation (including the successful drafting of dispositive motions) and in the litigation of trials in Federal and state courts—those cases have included securities fraud litigation, corporate governance litigation, antitrust class actions, products liability class actions, partnership disputes, and intellectual property litigation.
As a law clerk to the Fifth Circuit and to the Court of Chancery, Raffi assisted judges of those courts in analyzing legal issues in a wide range of civil trials and appeals. In addition, Raffi was selected by the Armenian Bar Association to present a seminar introducing the judiciary of the Republic of Armenia to the law of class actions in the summer of 2010.
Raffi tweets about appellate practice at @RMFifthcircuit, and also helps administer the State Bar of Texas’s appellate practice twitter account, @TexAppOrg.
Raffi has earned selection to Thomson Reuters’ list of Texas Super Lawyers (2017-18) in Appellate and Civil Litigation, and to the list of Texas Rising Stars (2016), as published in Texas Monthly.
Clerkships:
Law Clerk to the Hon. Jennifer W. Elrod, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2010-2011
Law Clerk to the Hon. Stephen P. Lamb, Delaware Court of Chancery, 2005-2006
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About Raffi Melkonian
Admitted: 2014, Texas
Professional Webpage: http://www.wrightclose.com/attorneys/raffi-melkonian/
Honors/Awards:
- Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2017, 2018
- Texas Rising Stars, 2016, as published in Texas Monthly
Bar/Professional Activity:
- Member, Garland R. Walker American Inn of Court
- State Bar of Texas Appellate Section, Co-Chair of Social Media
- Armenian Bar Association
- United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
- New York State Bar
- State Bar of Texas
Educational Background:
- M.A. University of St. Andrews, 2001, First Class Honours
- M.Phil University of Cambridge, 2002
- Executive Editor, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
- J.D., Harvard Law School, 2005, cum laude
Raffi Melkonian:
Last Updated: 2/2/2021