Firm - Heise Suarez Melville PA

In 2020, we left the partnership of one of the country’s most famous trial firms at the pinnacle of our careers. After working closely together for almost 20 years, we knew each other’s entrepreneurial spirit, passion for excellence, dogged determination, uncompromising work ethic, and commitment to client and community relationships – essential characteristics for success.

We took the best of what we learned and left the rest behind to create Heise Suarez Melville, a powerhouse boutique litigation firm representing corporate and individual plaintiffs and defendants in complex, bet-the-company matters and other high-stakes litigation, including class actions, antitrust, products liability, catastrophic injury, and complex business litigation.

Heise Suarez Melville seeks to raise the bar by providing the highest levels
of service across five key pillars.

Legal Excellence

We have successfully tried a spectrum of cases, from defending the manufacturer of an allegedly defective product to a six-week legal malpractice trial seeking $100 million against an international law firm and, most recently, defeating a preliminary injunction in federal court seeking to declare unconstitutional a state statute regarding non-compete agreements. Our track record and reputation often enable us to achieve our clients’ desired outcomes without having to step into any courtroom. Without a doubt, our first goal is always speedy resolution of our clients’ matters. When this is not possible, however, we will relentlessly prosecute and defend our clients’ best interests and fight aggressively until we win. Other lawyers know we are always poised and ready to enter the courtroom when needed.

Client Satisfaction

We focus on building relationships, not our roster of cases. At Heise Suarez Melville, we do not measure our success based on the number of hours we have billed or the number of courtroom victories we have achieved. Success to us is not a number. It’s all about long-standing relationships with happy clients. Our clients view us as much more than their trusted, go-to legal counsel. We are their lifelong friends. At all times, we rank their best interests above everything else. We understand their needs, and we treat them the way they want to be treated: with honesty, loyalty, availability, accessibility, and responsiveness.

Innovative Fee Arrangements

We consider it critical that our interests align with those of our clients. We achieve this goal by representing clients on a contingency fee basis or a fixed fee, or other creative alternatives to the hourly billing structures that dominate the legal profession. Although we will always lean toward fixed fee arrangements, we will encourage clients to choose whatever arrangements they prefer. Our flexible, client-focused approach is a marked departure from the more rigid hourly billing structures we were required to adopt as part of a large law firm.

Community Outreach

Our work would not be complete if we were not deeply invested in our community. As first-generation Americans, the three of us are deeply thankful for the opportunity to support the advancement of our legal profession and the community we call “home” by generously donating our time, talents and treasure to a variety of impactful organizations and causes. Whether serving on legal industry boards, speaking at conferences, or raising money for students’ back-to-school supplies, we will always continue the tradition of generous giving that began early in our careers.

Diversity

Let’s face it: Many law firms claim they are diverse, but not many truly are. Many law firms define diversity as having women and minorities on the roster working in back rooms, doing document review or research, but rarely (if ever) interacting with clients or working on critical aspects of cases. Look around at litigation firms that were born out of BigLaw and name three litigation firms that have the name of a woman and a Hispanic on the door. Not so at HSM. Our commitment to diversity is not only evidenced by the equal ownership of our star founding partner, Patricia Melville, but also by our commitment to maintain a truly diverse team at the forefront of our firm across all levels. Clients want teams that reflect our country’s diverse make-up, and Heise Suarez Melville is proud to deliver that.