Judge Melissa S. May
(Fourth District)

115 West Washington Street
Suite 1270 South Tower
Indianapolis, IN  46204
(317) 232-6907

Melissa S. May was appointed to the Court of Appeals in April of 1998 by Governor Frank O’Bannon and was retained on the Court by election in 2000. Judge May was born in Elkhart, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University-South Bend with a B.S. in 1980 and from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis with a J.D. in 1984.

Between law school and her appointment to the Court, Judge May practiced law in Evansville, Indiana, focusing on insurance defense and personal injury litigation.

Judge May has been active in local, state, and national bar associations and bar foundations. She served the Indiana Bar Association on the Board of Managers from 1992-1994, as Chair of the Litigation Section from 1998-1999, as Counsel to the President from 2000-2001, and as co-chair of the Futures Taskforce. In addition, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum from 1994-1999 and has been the co-chair of ICLEF’s Indiana Trial Advocacy College from 2001-2005. She is a fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation, as well as of the American Bar Association, and she is a Master Fellow of the Indianapolis Bar Association.

From 1999 till December 2004, Judge May was a member of Indiana’s Continuing Legal Education Commission, where she chaired the Specialization Committee. She is currently on an Advisory Panel to the Specialization Committee. In 2005, she was named to the Indiana Pro Bono Commission. In 2003, Judge May was named to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Attorney Specialization. She is now special counsel to that committee. In the spring of 2004, Judge May became adjunct faculty at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis, where she teaches a trial advocacy course. Also in the spring of 2004, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Southern Indiana.