As a lawyer, Mel previously worked at Make the Road New York as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, where he advocated for NYC’s restaurant delivery workers to improve working conditions in traditional and new on-demand economy through organizing, direct representation, education, and policy reform. Later he worked on the worker’s rights team at Takeroot Justice and the Gender Equality Law Center. He has also worked at Al Otro Lado and Centro de los Derechos del Migrante in Mexico, assisting asylum seekers and migrant farmworkers. Mel has published two law review articles about the intersection of bail reform and consumer protection. Before becoming a lawyer, Mel was a teacher in Chicago. Outside of work, Mel enjoys playing music and rock climbing.

Publications

Mel Gonzalez et al., Crimsumerism: Combating Consumer Abuses in the Criminal Legal System, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 2019

54 Harv. C.R.-C.L. L. Rev. 107 (2019)

Mel Gonzalez, Consumer Protection for Criminal Defendants: Regulating Commercial Bail in California, California Law Review, 2018

106 Calif. L. Rev. 1379 (2018)

EDUCATION

University of California, Berkeley, J.D.
University of Illinois, Masters in Education
University of Chicago, Bachelor of Arts

BAR AND COURT ADMISSIONS

Member, State Bar of New York