Melinda J. Bentley
Melinda serves as legal ethics counsel in Missouri where she provides oral and written informal advisory opinions to attorneys on issues related to the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct. In that position, she also serves as administrator and counsel to the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri. Melinda began serving in this position in 2012.
Previously, Melinda worked for the Illinois State Bar Association as assistant counsel from 2001-2003, first assistant counsel from 2003-2011, and assistant director of legislative affairs from 2009-2011. She is a frequent speaker and author on professional responsibility matters.
Melinda currently serves as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, the Solo and Small Firm Conference Planning Committee, and the Special Committee on Remote Public Access to Case.net. She was a board member and officer of the National Organization of Bar Counsel from 2015-2020, including a term as president from 2018-2019, and she formerly served on the editorial board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct as a member (2015-2016) and chair (2016-2018), as well as a member of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility Coordinating Council (2016-2018).
Melinda is licensed in both Missouri and Illinois, and she is a member of The Missouri Bar, Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Organization of Bar Counsel, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, and Cole County Bar Association.