Colón-Bosolet Melissa

MELISSA COLÓN-BOSOLET represents clients in high-risk business disputes in federal and state courts, arbitrations, and internal investigations. Melissa’s practice spans many different substantive areas of litigation, including those involving fraud and breach of contract, business torts, partnership disputes, purchase price adjustments, whistleblower-related litigation, and False Claims Act matters. She also represents companies and board committees in some of their most complex and sensitive enforcement and investigation-related issues.

“Melissa is always responsive and a great thought partner, approaching issues in a practical and non-legalistic way.”
Chambers USA 2025

Melissa’s litigation skills and reputation as a trusted business counselor have earned her various industry accolades. In 2024 and 2025, Chambers USA recognized Melissa as an “Up and Coming” lawyer for New York Litigation: General Commercial. Melissa was also recognized as a “Rising Star” by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and as a “Law Catalyst” by the Council of Urban Professionals in 2024, highlighting her career accomplishments and her dedication to the community. She was recognized by Crain’s New York Business as a “Notable Hispanic Leader” in 2022 and a “Notable Woman in Law” in 2020. In 2021, Melissa was named to Bloomberg Law’s inaugural edition of “They’ve Got Next: 40 Under 40.” She was also named as a “Rising Star” by the New York Law Journal in 2020 and by Super Lawyers for Business Litigation in New York City from 2014 through 2018. Additionally, Melissa is a recipient of the Hispanic National Bar Association’s 2017 “Top Lawyers Under 40” Award.

Melissa is also a leader in the New York legal community. She currently serves on the board of LatinoJustice and is a former trustee with Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City. Melissa also serves on the Board of the NYC Bar Association and formerly served as Chair of the NYC Bar Association’s Women in the Legal Profession Committee and Co-Chair of the NYC Bar Association Council on the Profession. An active Cornell Law alumna, Melissa also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council.

Melissa’s representative engagements include:

Commercial Disputes and Class Actions

• Currently representing a multinational technology company, in an anticompetitive conspiracy and racketeering dispute.
• Currently representing a financial institution, in connection with claims of fraud, theft, and conversion stemming from over a cyberheist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
• Currently representing a global importer, distributor, and marketer of consumer products and its founder, in connection with an alleged breach of partnership agreement and related business torts.
• Represented a private equity firm in a False Claims Act matter in which Sidley successfully moved for summary judgment on all counts against Relator in the Eastern District of Texas and two companion cases in California and Illinois State Courts.
• Represented an intellectual property holding company, in a multi-billion dollar fraud and breach of contract action arising from an acquisition of one of the largest privately held pharmaceutical companies.
• Represented a leading international insurance organization in two multi-million dollar confidential breach of contract arbitrations.
• Represented a technology firm in confidential arbitration asserting claims for breach of contract and tort arising from the termination of a global strategic partnership.
• Represented a mortgage servicer and trustee in a putative class action alleging FDCPA, NY GBL §349, RESPA and related claims brought by former participants in the FHA mortgage program.
• Represented an alternative asset management firm and its co-founder in federal litigation against claims of conspiracy, tort and breach of contract.
• Represented a major payment card issuer in connection with federal antitrust claims surrounding the roll-out of chip technology to prevent fraudulent card transactions.
• Represented a major investment bank in a consolidated antitrust action regarding the CDS market.

Investigations and Government Litigation

• Represents a major multinational telecommunications equipment company against charges of racketeering, trade secret theft, bank fraud, and other alleged offenses in a pending federal criminal case in the Eastern District of New York.
• Numerous internal investigations involving whistleblower, accounting and executive issues.
• Represented numerous investment advisers and principals in SEC investigations or examinations concerning regulatory priority issues, such as expense allocation, adviser compensation, valuation of fund holdings, cross trades, disclosure of investment risk and adequacy of compliance procedures.

Melissa’s representative engagements prior to joining Sidley include:

• Representation of a major electronics company in a series of ongoing patent infringement and breach of contract lawsuits with a telecommunications company. At trial, successfully defeated the telecommunications company’s attempt to ban the importation of virtually all of the electronics company’s products. 
• Representation of a major publishing company in an arbitration involving various contract and tort claims arising out of a publishing agreement with an author. Obtained a complete dismissal of all asserted claims. 
• Representation of a major publisher in its copyright infringement action against an e-book publisher. Secured a complete victory on summary judgment. 
• Representation of a major electronics company in a major patent infringement litigation. Successfully obtained full victory on summary judgment. 
• Representation of National Public Radio in an internal review of the firing of Juan Williams in 2010 following his controversial on-air remarks about his feelings towards Muslims. 
• Representation of a savings and loan association in a highly confidential and sensitive government investigation concerning its mortgage lending practices.

• Melissa is a member of the New York City Bar Association where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. She previously served as Chair of the Women in the Legal Profession Committee and Co-Chair of the Council on the Profession.
• Melissa also serves on the Cornell Law School Dean’s Advisory Council. She formerly served on the Cornell Alumni Association Executive Board of Directors.
• Melissa is a co-chair of Sidley’s Inclusion Committee and serves as a member of SidleyWomen in NewYork.

Melissa also maintains an active pro bono practice. She has represented families of children with disabilities in need of special education support and services and secured full victory after a hearing.

Melissa was previously recognized for her pro bono contribution to protect prisoners from violence and physical abuse. She managed a team assisting the Prisoners’ Rights Project to stave off likely action by New York City to terminate the class action injunction obtained in Fisher v. Koehler, which requires measures to reduce inmate-inmate and staff-inmate violence at the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island.

Melissa led a Sidley pro bono team to help ensure that Preston High School, an all-girls, private, Catholic, college preparatory school in the Bronx, would remain open. The school, which was founded in 1947 by the Sisters of the Divine Compassion, is known for its broad curriculum and emphasis on Christian service. Following a public hearing on April 22 by the Office of the New York State Attorney General, Sidley facilitated the purchase of the school from the Sisters of the Divine Compassion by Bally’s Foundation of North America, a charitable non-profit organization, which will lease the property back to the school on highly favorable terms, with options to renew the lease upon the completion of the original term.