Melanie Wilson RughaniShareholder/Director
Melanie Wilson Rughani, a director in the firm’s Oklahoma City office, serves as the co-chair of both the Appellate and Initiative Petitions Practice Groups. She has successfully represented clients in numerous appeals before the Oklahoma Supreme Court, as well as the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals and various United States Courts of Appeal. She is also one of only a handful of attorneys in the state who has substantial experience with initiative and referendum petitions, having represented both proponents and challengers at all stages of the complex petition process.
Prior to joining Crowe & Dunlevy, Melanie was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Mayer Brown, LLP, where she was a member of the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice group. From 2007-2008, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Kenneth F. Ripple, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Melanie graduated in 2007 from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif and served as Executive Editor of the Virginia Law Review. She earned her undergraduate degree with distinction in political science and international studies from the University of Kansas.
- Represented a coalition of healthcare advocates seeking to expand Medicaid in Oklahoma, including drafting petition, advising proponents throughout complex statutory initiative petition process, and successfully defending initiative from multiple constitutional challenges in a rare en banc oral argument before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. See Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, Inc. v. Smalley, 2019 OK 48, 456 P.3d 609.
- Represented a coalition of criminal justice reform advocates seeking to prohibit the use of draconian sentencing enhancements in Oklahoma, including advising proponents throughout the initiative petition process, and obtaining writ of mandamus from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, ultimately ensuring the measure would appear on the general election ballot. See In re State Question 805, Initiative Petition 421, 2020 OK 45, 473 P.3d 466.
- Represented proponents of an initiative petition seeking to reform the redistricting process in Oklahoma and prevent gerrymandering, including successfully defending petition from multiple constitutional challenges in a rare en banc oral argument before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. See In re Initiative Petition No. 426, State Question No. 810, 2020 OK 43, 465 P.3d 1244; Gaddis v. Moore, 2020 OK 9, 458 P.3d 1088.
- Represented a coalition of education associations, teachers, and parents in successful legal challenge to veto referendum petition. See Oklahoma’s Children, Our Future, Inc. v. Coburn, Sup. Ct. No. 117,020.
- Successfully defended education funding initiative petition from constitutional and procedural challenges brought by anti-tax group, ensuring that the measure reached the general election ballot. See In re Initiative Petition No. 403, State Question No. 779, 2016 OK 1; OCPA Impact, Inc. v. Sheehan, 2016 OK 84.
- Successfully challenged the Attorney General’s proposed ballot titles for criminal justice reform measures as misleading and partial. See Steele v. Pruitt, 2016 OK 87.
- Successfully obtained reversal of a series of orders by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission denying various rural telephone companies’ requests for reimbursement under the Oklahoma Telecommunications Act, allowing providers to recover more than $1 million in costs. See Oklahoma Universal Service Fund cases, 2019 OK 21; 2019 OK 22; 2019 OK 23; 2019 OK 24; 2019 OK 25; 2019 OK 26; 2019 OK 27.
- Successfully obtained reversal of trial court order attempting to enforce purported $30 million settlement. See Factor v. Western Express, Inc., Okla. Sup. Ct. No. 114,498.
- Successfully obtained reversal of $15 million judgment entered as a sanction for alleged discovery abuses. See Parks v. Foremost Insurance Company, Okla. Sup. Ct. No. 112744 (and related cases).
- Successfully obtained reversal of a $2.5 million jury verdict against liability insurer on grounds that jury’s finding of fraud lacked sufficient evidence in the record. See Turbo Nitro, Inc. v. Burlington Ins. Co., Okla. Sup. Ct. No. 117,082.
- Successfully obtained vacatur of district court’s finding of copyright infringement. See Paycom Payroll, LLC v. Richison, 758 F.3d 1198 (10th Cir. 2014).
University of Virginia School of Law
Charlottesville, VA
J.D., 2007
Honors:
Order of the Coif
Law Review, Executive Editor
Dean's Scholar
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS
B.A., 2004
Honors:
University Scholar
Kansas Debate Team
- Supreme Court of the United States, 2011
- Oklahoma, 2011
- Washington, D.C., 2008
- North Carolina, 2007
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, 2010
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, 2009
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, 2007
- Northern District of Oklahoma, 2010
- Western District of Oklahoma, 2010
- Listed in Best Lawyers in Commercial Litigation (2021 - Present)*
- Ranked in Oklahoma Super Lawyers, Rising Star in Appellate, Civil Litigation, Criminal Defense: White Collar (2014 - 2018, 2020 - Present)*
- Named Law360 Rising Star, Appellate (2021)
*Crowe & Dunlevy has no input in the rating methodologies used by the Best Lawyers or Super Lawyers publications.
- "Paths to the Supreme Court: A Brief Discussion of the Various Ways to Obtain Review of a District Court Order", Oklahoma Bar Journal (September 2023)
- "The Cost of Access to the Courts: Considering Court Fees, Costs and Other Financial Barriers to the Courts in the Context of Article II, Section 6", Oklahoma Bar Journal (October 2023)
- “‘Of Public Right’: A Modern Look at the Age-Old Doctrine of Publici Juris and Its Discretionary Application in Appeals and Original Actions Involving the Public Interest,” Oklahoma Bar Journal (Feb. 2023)
- “Time to Restore the Initiative Petition Process,” The Oklahoman (October 15, 2017)
- “Keep it Simple, Stupid,” Oklahoma Bar Journal, Vol. 86, No. 5, February 14, 2015
- Speaker, "What You Can Do Before and During Trial to Improve Your Chances of Success on Appeal," Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Meeting, November 3, 2016, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Civil Procedure and Federal Jurisdiction," The Tenth Circuit Year in Review, December 29, 2016, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Civil Procedure and Federal Jurisdiction," The Tenth Circuit Year in Review, December 29, 2015, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Civil Procedure and Federal Jurisdiction," The Tenth Circuit Year in Review, December 30, 2014, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Civil Procedure and Federal Jurisdiction," The Tenth Circuit Year in Review, December 30, 2014, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Civil Procedure and Federal Jurisdiction," The Tenth Circuit Year in Review, December 30, 2013, Oklahoma City, OK
- Speaker, "Civil Procedure and Federal Jurisdiction," The Tenth Circuit Year in Review, December 18, 2012, Oklahoma City, OK
- Parent Promise, President of the Board
- Oklahoma Bar Journal, Board of Editors
