Melissa A. Day
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Melissa A. Day is a prominent NY Workers’ Compensation defense attorney, managing partner, and founder of The Law Offices of Melissa A. Day, PLLC (familiarly known as LOMAD), located in Amherst, New York. With nearly 30 years of legal experience, she has dedicated her career to reshaping New York’s standard workers’ compensation defense model by prioritizing strategic, claim-based partnerships over high-volume, assembly-line representation.
Born and raised in the Western New York area, Day graduated from the Nardin Academy and Canisius College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993. Following her undergraduate studies, she pursued her legal education at the prestigious Notre Dame Law School, earning her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1996.
Day was officially admitted to the New York State Bar in 1997 and started in WC Defense approximately a year later. In January 2013, she took a monumental step in her career by launching her own solo practice in Amherst. Her focus on aggressively fighting for employers and insurance carriers, especially on difficult cases where other firms had given up, quickly catalyzed the firm’s growth. Over the course of more than a decade, she transformed her solo practice into a thriving, dynamic enterprise comprised of 18 attorneys and over 32 employees. Day is very proud that LOMAD is one of the largest (if not the largest) WBE certified/Women-Owned law firms in NYS.
Day has extensive appellate experience, having been involved in more than 60 cases in NY’s appellate courts, including the Third and Fourth Departments and the 2nd Circuit, and has successfully argued two matters that any seasoned NY Workers’ Compensation practitioner would recognize at the New York State Court of Appeals: Burns v. Varriale and Lazalee v. Wegmans Food Markets.
Day is deeply integrated into the state and local legal community, holding professional memberships across several major associations:
- New York State Bar Association
- Erie County Bar Association – Lawyers Helping Lawyers Sub-Committee
- New York Self-Insurers Association
- Defense Association of New York
- Buffalo Claims Association
- Syracuse Claims Association
Beyond her active practice, Day is a prominent advocate for the community and industry education. She serves as a Board Member for Kids’ Chance NY, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing scholarships to children of workers who have been severely or fatally injured on the job. She is also heavily involved in the creation of educational resources for the legal field, overseeing LOMAD Magazine and host video series like Scales and Tales, Melanie’s Minutes, and The Legal Scoop to decode complex legal parameters.
Day resides in Amherst, New York, with her family, two dogs and 3 cats. She is an avid Buffalo Bills fan and Season Ticket Member and married to Michael Ryan and has one child, Carl R. Day.
Practice Areas
- Workers’ Compensation
- Subrogation
- Appellate Law
Current Employment Position
- Mistress of the LOMAD Universe Head Misfit at LOMAD, a/k/a Managing Partner
Bar Admissions
- New York, 1997
Professional Associations and Memberships
- New York State Bar Association
- New York Self-Insurers Association
- Defense Association of New York
- Buffalo Claims Association
- New York State Association of Self-Insured Counties
- Erie County Bar Association
- Vice President | Syracuse Claims Association
- Board Member | Kids’ Chance NY
Education
- Notre Dame Law School, South Bend, Indiana
- J.D. – 1996
- Canisius College
- B.A. – 1993
- Major: English
- Nardin Academy
- 1984
Verdicts/Settlements/Cases of Note/Favorite Win
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Attorney Melissa A. Day successfully prosecuted an appeal to the Court of Appeal in Lazalee vs. Wegmans Food Markets, 40 NY3d 458 (2023) overcoming adverse decisions by the Workers’ Compensation Board and Third Department and showcased LOMAD’s commitment to Wegmans’ due process rights. This rare triumph at the Court of Appeals guarantees fair proceedings for all parties by allowing cross-examination of a medical provider and created precedent for due process moving forward. Most importantly, The Law Office of Melissa A. Day, PLLC achieved its vision for its client: Wegmans’ voice was heard through our persistent advocacy. This was the highlight of Melissa’s 28 legal career.
Melissa also prevailed at the Court of Appeals in the frequently cited Burns v. Varriale, 9 NY3d 207 (2007) which holds that if future workers’ compensation benefits are speculative, attorneys’ fees must be apportioned against the employer or carrier on a “pay as you go” basis.
Pro-Bono Activities
- Board Member Vice President of Kids’ Chance of New York
Honors
- Largest Women-Owned Businesses Buffalo – 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Largest Buffalo Law Firms – 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Finalist Best Places to Work Buffalo – 2021
Professional Contributions
- Founder of and regular contributor to the Linkedin Group, “New York Workers’ Compensation Forum” in September 2009 – Currently nearly 2400 members
- Presenter at numerous for profit and not for profit seminars on New York Workers’ Compensation
- Contributing author: Licht, Esq., Steven M., “The Special Disability Fund, The Fund for Reopened Cases and Special Funds Conservation Committee”. Workers’ Compensation Law and Practice in New York. Editors-in-Chief Steven M. Scotti and John Sweeny. Albany, NY: New York State Bar Association (2011)
- Numerous Appellate Division and Court of Appeals Decisions
Your Legal Superpower
- Using my weird, bent way of looking at the world Channeling my Oppositional Defiance Disorder to study the language of a statute and find defenses where none were previously thought to exist.
Pets and Hobbies
- Pets
- Daisy, the sweetest Husky you ever did meet
- Bear, the Lab-mix Galoot
- Poof, the One-Eyed Calico
- Sweet Pea, the Drain Bamaged Taco Cat
- Herbie, the Love Bug
- Hobbies
- Theater – movies and musicals
- Professional Figure Skater in a past life
- Boating, Kayaking and Biking
- Buffalo Bills Superfan