Luis Meléndez and Jessica Westerman have joined Kalijarvi, Chuzi, Newman & Fitch, P.C. as associates.
“We are excited to have Luis and Jessica join our team,” said Elaine Fitch, KCNF managing partner. “They are exceptional attorneys who will provide the experience, knowledge, and commitment that our clients expect from the firm.”
Meléndez advocates for employees facing illegal and unfair treatment in the workplace, including employment discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and whistleblower protections.
Before joining KCNF, he worked as a staff attorney at the Children’s Law Center, where he advocated for the rights of families in the Washington, D.C., area. He has also been an assistant consumer advocate for the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Advocate, where he worked to protect the interests of consumers in Pennsylvania through complex litigation.
Meléndez graduated magna cum laude from Temple University Beasley School of Law and summa cum laude from la Universidad del Turabo in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, earning a bachelor of arts in criminology.
During his time at Temple Law, Meléndez was a Law & Public Policy Scholar, staff editor for Temple Law Review, and volunteer for the Transgender Name Change Project. Meléndez also was a legal intern for the Employment Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Mazzoni Center (LGBTQ+ organization), Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania, as well as a judicial intern at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Westerman represents labor unions and their members in connection with illegal and unfair workplace practices, including discrimination, retaliation, and wage and hour violations.
Before joining the firm, Westerman represented individuals in employment discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower matters at a plaintiff-side firm in Washington, D.C. She also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Russell F. Canan of the D.C. Superior Court before entering private practice.
Westerman graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where she received the Dean’s Certificate for Special and Outstanding Service to the Law Center Community and served as executive articles editor for the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy.
While attending Georgetown, Westerman served as a legal intern for the Institute for Public Representation, the EEOC, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
She received a bachelor of arts degree in English, with a certificate in American Studies, from Princeton University.