Melissa Taylormoore is a partner in the Firm's Litigation Practice Group. She is also the Global Head of White & Case's US Government Contracts practice and co-chair of the Firm's Defense Working Group. With more than 20 years of experience, Melissa advises clients across industries on the full spectrum of legal and regulatory issues involved in doing business with federal, state, and local governments in the United States—including matters involving national security, defense, aerospace, and dual-use technologies.

Melissa represents US government contractors and grant recipients throughout the contract lifecycle—from structuring compliance programs that satisfy DOJ, DCAA, and agency-specific requirements to resolving disputes with regulators and enforcement authorities. She also regularly advises on transactions involving companies that receive US government funding, including acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures with national security implications.

Her disputes practice spans contract litigation, employment matters, and enforcement defense. She has extensive experience representing clients in internal and government investigations under statutes such as the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the UK Bribery Act.

In addition to her US public sector work, Melissa counsels clients navigating procurement regimes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations, as well as other international defense acquisition and compliance frameworks. She supports clients on market entry strategies, pre-award due diligence, global regulatory positioning, and risk mitigation in security-sensitive supply chains.

Melissa also leads sensitive internal and cross-border investigations involving allegations of fraud, corporate misconduct, discrimination, harassment, human trafficking, and other ethical or compliance failures. She frequently advises boards of directors and executive teams on governance, remediation, and crisis response, and helps companies prepare for and respond to high-stakes regulatory scrutiny.

Before rejoining private practice, Melissa served as Chief Legal and Compliance Officer for a major U.S. defense contractor, where she advised the board on strategic initiatives, built and implemented a global compliance infrastructure, managed litigation, and led responses to cyber incidents and regulatory inquiries. She was previously a partner at a large Washington, D.C. law firm.