Theresa J. (“Terri”) Macellaro is an attorney with years of experience representing large businesses such as IBM, local governments such as the City of Los Angeles, celebrities including NBA player Samaki Walker, and scores of other well-known individuals ranging from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Richard Riordan to Brad Pitt. She learned her trade at the prestigious New York Wall Street firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and was a partner with Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro LLP in Century City. She now runs her own law firm and her practice focuses on high-profile litigation, mainly in the business and entertainment industries.
Ms. Macellaro enjoys utilizing her legal expertise to help the plight of animals. Working closely with the General Manager of Animal Services for the City of Los Angeles, she helped draft and lobby for a law that provides an incentive for people to spay and neuter their animals. She was trial counsel on the landmark case Bluestone v. Bergstrom, wherein a judge and jury agreed that a rescued, mixed breed dog with a “market value” of only $10 has a “special and unique” value to his guardian of $30,000. In addition to her busy law practice, Ms. Macellaro is a Member of the Advisory Board to Western University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Vice President and Treasurer and on the Board of Directors of In Defense of Animals. She has also contributed civically by serving as Chairperson of the American Bar Association’s Animal Protection Committee; Editor of the ABA publication The Animal Law Report; Member of the Board of Directors of Public Counsel; and Member of the Advisory Committee to the Los Angeles Zoo. Ms. Macellaro lives in Los Angeles with her fiancé and several rescued animals. |
