Press Release

Dykema, a leading national law firm, today announced that Melanie L. Fry, member in the firm’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, was selected as the 2019 recipient of the Bexar County Women’s Bar Foundation (BCWB) Belva Lockwood Outstanding Young Lawyer Award. Fry will be presented with the award at the BCWB’s annual Autumn Affair set for Oct. 25, 2019, at the Witte Museum in San Antonio.

Each year the Bexar County Women’s Bar chooses two female attorneys for this recognition based on their contributions to the legal profession and contributions to the community in the form of charitable and volunteer work. Nominees are evaluated based on experience, reputation, and standing in the legal community. BCWB selects those who embody the principles of Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood (October 24, 1830 – May 19, 1917).

Lockwood was an American attorney, politician, educator, and author who was active in working for women’s rights. As one of the first female lawyers in the nation, she successfully petitioned Congress to be allowed to practice before the United States Supreme Court. In addition, Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party and was the first woman to appear on official ballots.

Fry leads Dykema’s appellate practice in San Antonio. She has briefed and won cases in the Texas Courts of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Texas, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Fry’s experience includes high-stakes matters such as personal injury and product defects, contract and business tort claims, consumer financial services disputes, first- and third-party insurer defense, and oil and gas law.

As indicated by her selection as a recipient of the Belva Lockwood Award, Fry is extremely active in both professional and community organizations. She has served as an Officer and Board Member of the Federal Bar Association’s San Antonio Chapter—including serving as its President. As part of her service in the Federal Bar, Fry has chaired the Western District of Texas’s Federal Court Practice Seminar, the annual Fox Tech High School Girls Mentoring Luncheon, and the annual Constitution Day Program put on by the San Antonio Bar Association’s Federal Courts Committee. She currently serves on the Admissions Committee for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and on the Board of Directors for the BCWB Association. Fry also co-authors “The Federal Court Update,” a recurring column in the San Antonio Lawyer Magazine, and the “Personal Injury Law Update” for the Texas Bar Journal.

Fry is a graduate of the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Leadership Lab and the BCWB’s LEAD Academy. She is a member of Dykema’s Pro Bono Committee and has led Dykema’s annual day of service to the community in San Antonio, including projects at Haven for Hope and the Fisher House at the Center for the Intrepid.

Fry earned a J.D., cum laude, from Baylor University School of Law, and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Abilene Christian University. After law school, she served as a Law Clerk for The Honorable Don Willett on the Supreme Court of Texas.