Her Story
About Paula
Paula Melo is an accomplished international attorney whose career spans more than three decades across Brazil and the United States. After becoming an attorney in Brazil at just 21 years old, she built extensive experience in corporate law, compliance, commercial transactions, and legal strategy before relocating to the United States fifteen years ago. Determined to continue practicing law internationally, she returned to law school in Florida, graduated summa cum laude from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, and passed the Florida Bar on her first attempt in 2021. Today, she is licensed in both countries and is recognized for her strong ethical values, legal excellence, and commitment to serving clients with integrity and professionalism.
As the founder of Melo Law Firm, Paula focuses on helping individuals and businesses navigate complex legal matters with clarity and confidence. Her practice includes estate planning, business law, contract negotiation, compliance, and transactional legal services, where she works closely with clients to protect their interests and create long-term solutions. Drawing from her international legal background and corporate leadership experience, she is known for cultivating lasting professional relationships built on trust, honesty, and personalized attention. Her previous roles as Associate General Counsel and Associate Attorney further strengthened her expertise in litigation management, insurance law, commercial transactions, and organizational strategy.
Beyond her legal practice, Paula is deeply committed to education, mentorship, and community service. She teaches within the Paralegal Studies program at Broward College — a meaningful full-circle experience after once being a student in the same program herself. She is also actively involved in organizations such as the Brazilian Business Group and volunteers her time supporting initiatives that assist children and underserved communities. Fluent in English and Portuguese, Paula continues to inspire others through her resilience, global perspective, and belief that dedication and continuous learning can open doors to extraordinary opportunities.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Paula
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think commitment is what helped me achieve the success in my career and my personal life. Of course, everybody has the goal to succeed in whatever we do, and we have to have that mindset to achieve the best in ourselves and for others. But if you're not committed, that's not gonna be enough. Success is a result, and commitment is what makes it possible.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to go the extra mile, because it's never crowded there. I was also told to always be ahead and do a little bit more than what's expected from you. I think that's beneficial to everybody and builds trust. Those are the most important pieces of advice I've received, I stuck with them, and they helped me a lot throughout my life.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
To young women, I would say what I would like to tell my young self when I was 21: don't doubt yourself, never doubt yourself. Don't let other people put you down. You have to be the first cheerleader of yourself, of your life, of your career. You know your worth, and you know you can get there. What you don't know, you will learn. The opportunities you have, just embrace them. Don't let them pass, because sometimes they don't return. So embrace the opportunities that you think are interesting for you, don't let other people put you down. Just be the queen of your fate. You are the leader of your life, and you are the one in command. As I share with my paralegal students at Broward College, you just have to be committed, and you never know what the future holds. You just keep doing your part, learning, doing the best you can, going the extra mile, and things are gonna work out for you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The legal field is always challenging, but I think what's trending right now is professionalism and courtesy. Everybody's busy, all lawyers are running around trying to get clients and make money and work, but there's no room anymore for the mean lawyer, for the contentious lawyer. I think everybody needs to be courteous and need to work together. Today, we are in opposite sides, tomorrow you might be co-counsel. The challenges I think we all face in the legal field are exactly some lawyers' behaviors, and there's this feeling that some lawyers have that they are better than everybody else, and that's bad for the profession, that's bad for the legal system as a whole. I think that's getting better though, they're not the majority anymore.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values are the same in my personal and professional life, and I think it starts with ethics. You have to be ethical in all your relationships, personal, professional, regardless of who is on the other end of the relationship. If you're ethical, and you are honest, and you're forthcoming, I think those things build trust. And that's what makes relationships last and careers grow.
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