Meet the Attorneys

Melissa Bauman Ward
Associate Attorney

Melissa Bauman Ward is an attorney practicing in the areas of business law, real estate, and commercial litigation. She was admitted to practice law in California in 1992 and is a member of the California and Contra Costa County Bar Associations.

A 1992 graduate of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, Ms. Ward was Editor-in-Chief of the Hastings International & Comparative Law Review and recipient of the 1066 Foundation Award. She also has a Bachelor's Degree in History from Yale University and was a member of both the Yale Symphony Orchestra and Yale Glee Club.

Ms. Ward began her legal career at the real estate firm Miller, Starr & Regalia, where she worked on a variety of litigation matters pertaining to mortgage banking, lease disputes, receiverships, ADA/disability access, partition cases, construction defects, and environmental contamination. She next worked for the San Francisco firm Steinhart & Falconer on litigation matters relating to real estate, employment, and the resolution of business disputes. While at Steinhart & Falconer, Ms. Ward served as Chair of the Queen's Bench Amicus Committee and participated in the submission of an Amicus Brief on an adoption issue to the California Supreme Court (see In Re Haley A. (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 1351).

Ms. Ward lives in Walnut Creek with her husband and three children. She is an active volunteer for a variety of community organizations, including The Seven Hills School in Walnut Creek, and is a cellist with the Diablo Symphony Orchestra.