Rezarta Cenaj Melo

Rezi Melo is a commercial litigation lawyer at Bauch & Michaels, LLC.  Prior to joining Bauch & Michaels, Rezi practiced law in Albania for over fifteen years representing European companies involved in complex litigation matters. She was admitted to practice law in the United States in 2021. During her years litigating in Europe she also served as CEO of the Corporate Governance Institute of Albania. Since 2016, part of her practice has included representing and advising companies on data protection to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation adopted by the European Union.  Rezi brings her GDPR experiences from the EU to her work on data privacy and compliance and data security in the United States.

Rezi is one of the founders of the Corporate Governance Institute of Albania.  She served as Chief Executive Officer of the organization for eight years.  Rezi also served as a Board Member of the Corporate Social Responsibility Network in Albania for two years. She is an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Rezi has been trained by IAPP in e-discovery and federal and state financial privacy and confidentiality. She is continuing studies to obtain privacy certification in the U.S. Her discovery and trial experience includes matters in federal and state courts.
 
Since becoming an Illinois lawyer in 2021, Rezi has prepared, negotiated, and conducted commercial real estate transactions and corporate governance matters in Illinois. Her experience includes representing plaintiffs  and defendants in federal and state court, in commercial litigation, breach of contract, landlord-tenant disputes, e-discovery, data protection,  and data security.  Her clients have included business associations, construction and telecommunication companies.
 
Rezi currently serves as President of the Albanian-American Bar Association of Illinois and is currently a member of the American Bar Association, Chicago Bar and Illinois State Bar Associations. Rezi was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2022 and also has been admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  She was admitted to the Albanian Bar in 2003 and admitted to the District Court, Appellate Court, Supreme Court, and Constitutional Court in Albania.
 
Rezi received her J.D. in 1996 from the University of Tirana, Law Faculty.   In 2008 she received her Master in Law degree and in 2016 Rezi was awarded her Ph.D. in Law from University of Tirana, Albania.
 
After arriving in the United States, Rezi’s commitment to legal scholarship continued.  In 2019 Rezi received a Master in Business Law and in 2020 she received a Master in Law for Trial Advocacy from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology.  During her Master’s studies she received the CALI awards in Trial Advocacy and Legal Writing.