John Melcon

John is an attorney in Taft’s Colorado Springs office. He provides comprehensive counsel to religious, educational, and other nonprofit organizations. In addition to his advising work, he represents clients in employment disputes and First Amendment cases in all phases of litigation.

Prior to joining the firm, John was a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Stuart Kyle Duncan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In his current appellate practice, John has authored and filed briefs in multiple federal circuits and has argued before the Colorado Supreme Court.

John earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law where he received a full-tuition Karsh-Dillard Scholarship. He served on the Virginia Journal of Law & Politics, was president of Virginia Law Families, and completed a Blackstone Legal Fellowship. Prior to law school, John was a college administrator and instructor. He obtained his B.A., summa cum laude, in history from The Master’s University and has an M.A. in philosophy of religion and ethics from Biola University.

For more information on the work John does for faith-based clients, click here.

Presentations

• Speaker, “Driving Nonprofit Success Through Endowments,” Innovest Portfolio Solutions and Eide Bailly (Nov. 2024)
• Speaker, “Legal Environment Update,” Lockton Fall Risk Management Meeting (Sept. 2024)
• Speaker, “Navigating the Overtime Rule,” Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) (July 2024)
• Speaker, “A New Overtime Rule – What You Need to Know,” Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) (June 2024)
• Speaker, “Wedding Websites & Free Speech in the Realm of LGBTQ+ Discrimination,” Rocky Mountain Labor and Employment Relations Associations (LERA) (Nov. 2022)
• Speaker, “Religious Hiring Rights Update,” Christian Leadership Alliance Outcomes Conference (April 2022)
• Speaker, “Latest Developments in Legislative and Legal Matters,” MissioNexus Mission Leaders Conference (Sept. 2021)

Publications

• Author, “Freedom for Religious Hiring,” Outcomes Magazine (June 2022)
• Co-author, “EEOC Vax Exemption Insights Employers May Have Missed,” Law 360 Employment Authority (March 2022)
• Author, “What the Ministerial Exception Will Mean for Religious Employers,” Christianity Today (July 2020)
• Author, “Thou Art Fired: A Conduct View of Title VII’s Religious Employer Exemption,” 19 Rutgers Journal of Law And Religion 280 (2018)