Mark Aaron Melton (born March 20, 1978) is an American attorney and housing advocate based in Dallas, Texas.[1] His housing advocacy work has focused primarily on renters' rights and on eviction prevention.[2] He co-founded and heads the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center (DEAC), an organization of volunteer attorneys that helps renters avoid eviction and housing insecurity.[3] He is a partner at Holland & Knight.[4]
Mark A. Melton | |
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| Born | Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Arlington (BBA) University of Texas at Arlington (MS) SMU (JD) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Employer | Holland & Knight |
| Spouse | Lauren Melton |
Early life and Education
editMelton grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[4] He was raised in a politically conservative household and attended a small, private high school run by Victory Christian Church.[1] Melton graduated from high school a semester early and chose to enter the workforce, finding employment with a debt collection company rather than attending college.[1] When the company, Commercial Financial Services, went bankrupt in 1999, Melton lost his income and was subsequently evicted from home with his wife and two young children.[3] Following his eviction in Tulsa, Melton relocated to Dallas, Texas to find work.[5] He enrolled in junior college at Tarrant County College.[3] In 2003, Melton graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a Masters of Science in Taxation.[6] On January 31, 2004, he and a UTA teammate won the National Moot Court Competition.[7] Melton applied to thirteen law schools and was accepted only into Southern Methodist University, where he took night classes while working at a tax firm during the day; he graduated in 2008.[1]
Career
editAfter graduating from law school, Melton went to work for the law firm of Hunton & Williams.[2] In 2018, he moved to Holland & Knight as a tax attorney and partner.[1]
Pro bono and community work
editDuring the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when layoffs were increasingly widespread, Melton started using Facebook to answer questions about evictions.[1] In 2020, Melton started Dallas Evictions 2020, an organization with close to 200 attorneys, as of May 2021, that provided pro bono eviction assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Melton and the group also secured donations to help families pay back rent and hire legal representation.[8]
In January 2021, Melton and his wife, Lauren, co-founded the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center (DEAC) to provide pro bono services to tenants facing eviction,[4] including advising renters on protections, representing them in court, and helping them access government aid for rent payments.[5] As of February 2022, Melton and his team's success rate at keeping clients from eviction was about 96%[3] and had helped about 10,000 people.[9] Much of the DEAC's private funding came from the Meltons.[4] When Melton relied on outside sources, he used private grants rather than government funds, which he believed would have slowed their work down.[10] Melton also collaborated with nonprofits such as the United Way and City Square to provide other services for struggling renters.[10] In addition to legal services, Melton and his wife recruited volunteers to help renters move, collect furnishings for new apartments and enroll their children in area schools or daycare.[4] In September 2021, Melton drafted an ordinance, adopted by the city of Dallas, giving tenants 60 days to prove they had undergone financial hardship due to COVID-19 pandemic, while allowing them time to come up with money to pay back rent.[2]
Personal life
editMelton and Lauren Melton married in 2017.[4] He has four children.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Nickell, J.K. (July 2024). "The Eviction Cure". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Vaughn, Jacob (18 April 2022). "North Texas Is Seeing an Unexpected Jump in Evictions". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Goodman, Matt (1 May 2024). "The Lawyer Who Landlords Don't Want to See in Court". D Magazine. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Grigsby, Sharon (22 July 2022). "Landlords' eviction gamble in Dallas County goes bust when pro bono lawyers show up". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ a b Stengle, Jamie; Casey, Michael (27 April 2021). "Dallas lawyer takes up mission to help people avoid eviction". Associated Press. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ "Alumni news" (PDF). University of Texas at Arlington Magazine (Spring 2013): 40. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Sweat, Candace (3 February 2004). "Moot court team takes title". The short horn: UT Arlington's main news source since 1919. University of Texas at Arlington. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Villafranca, Omar; Canales, Angel (19 May 2021). "Inside Dallas eviction court: Pro bono lawyers help tenants stay in homes during pandemic". CBS News. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Rippetoe, Rachel (1 June 2022). "ABA Lauds 3 Firms, 2 Texas Attys As Pro Bono Standouts". Law 360. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Babb, Christina Hughes (28 February 2022). "96% of Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center's clients stay in their homes". The Advocate (Lakewood). The Advocate Magazine. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
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