Larsson & Scheuritzel P.C., one of the city’s leading commercial real estate law firms, is pleased to announce that attorney Melanie Breaux recently participated as a panelist at a University of Pennsylvania Law School movie screening event. “Balancing the Scales” is a film that chronicles the challenges women have historically faced in the legal profession and profiles some of the women who have succeeded in spite of those hurdles and have worked toward change.

Ms. Breaux participated in a panel discussion of fellow Penn Law alumnae about the film and how all lawyers can work toward a profession that values the contributions and work of all its members. The panel discussion topics included specific work-life balance issues, various ways in which law firms and companies have supported and promoted the women and minorities within their ranks, issues with pay and promotion parity between women and men, the high attrition rate among women, traditional versus alternative career paths, the importance of technology in allowing attorneys to work remotely, the importance of including men in the discussion, and sharing the demands of home life with spouses, etc. Also discussed was the value of diversity to law firms, ideas for improving the retention rate of women, how the industry has changed in recent years, and optimism for the future. Other panelists included the General Counsel of MasterCard, North America, and partners from Cravath and Wachtell.

Melanie’s practice focuses on a wide range of real estate transactional work, including the representation of developers, end users, borrowers, and lenders in the sale and acquisition of commercial real estate, as well as the representation of commercial landlords and tenants in connection with retail and warehouse leases across the country. Melanie also advises clients on residential real estate transactions. In addition, Melanie has experience working with REITs and other large-scale real estate investors on the acquisition, disposition, and financing of large portfolios of properties located throughout the United States. In addition to real estate work, Melanie has assisted individual clients with basic estate planning issues and documentation, and has administered decedents’ estates. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2000), Melanie received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (2007).

Larsson & Scheuritzel P.C. represents some of the world’s largest retail and commercial companies in real estate, commercial litigation, corporate, and arbitration and mediation matters. Based in Philadelphia, the firm is one where the lawyers have a deep-seated passion for practicing law—the right way—and have a huge emotional and intellectual investment in their clients’ success.