DAVID W. DONNELL, ESQ.
As the founding Managing Partner of Donnell, Melgoza & Scates LLP, Mr. Donnell advises employers regarding occupational safety and health issues, including Cal/OSHA, Fed/OSHA, MSHA, and Workers' Compensation "Serious and Willful" claims.
Mr. Donnell provides counsel to employers during all stages of occupational safety and health inspections and proceedings; provides advice and counsel during settlement negotiations; represents employers in hearings before administrative boards, including the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board and the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission; has made numerous presentations to California employers and associations regarding occupational safety and health issues; is a current member of the Cal/OSHA Advisory Committee (representing management), and was co-author of The Cal/OSHA Source 2014.
Admitted to the California State Bar in November, 1997, Mr. Donnell received his J.D. degree in 1996 from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and his undergraduate degree in Economics (with a minor in Psychology) from the University of California, Davis, in 1989. Prior to founding Donnell, Melgoza & Scates LLP in 2019, Mr. Donnell was employed as an associate attorney at Robert D. Peterson Law Corporation for 21 years (from 1998 to 2019).
PERRY P. POFF, ESQ.
Senior Litigation Associate
Mr. Poff's practice includes advising and defending employers regarding occupational safety and health issues and representation before the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board, the Federal Occupational Safety Review Commission, and the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. He also advises and defends employers regarding "Serious and Willful Misconduct" and Labor Code Section 132a discrimination claims before the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.
Mr. Poff first practiced Occupational Safety and Health law as an Associate Attorney with the Robert D. Peterson Law Corporation. His prior legal experience includes employment with the Southern California law firm of Solimon | Rodgers P.C., where he represented employees with claims for workers’ compensation benefits, Labor Code Section 132a discrimination claims, "Serious and Willful Misconduct" claims, and with various employment law claims.
Mr. Poff also holds an active contractor's license from the California Contractors State License Board and understands the real-world regulatory challenges faced by employers. His extensive experience in the construction industry provides an additional benefit to the clients he represents.
Mr. Poff received his J.D. degree, with honors, from Western State College of Law and his Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from California State University Los Angeles. Mr. Poff is admitted to practice in all California State Courts, the United States District Courts for the Northern and Central Districts, and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
MANUEL M. MELGOZA, ESQ.
(of Counsel)
Mr. Melgoza's practice includes representation of employers before the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in proceedings alleging safety and health violations.
Prior to becoming a partner and working for Robert D. Peterson Law Corporation, Mr. Melgoza was the presiding administrative law judge of the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. He also served as an administrative law judge of the Appeals Board before becoming the presiding administrative law judge. He has presided over thousands of appeal proceedings, trained, and supervised administrative law judges, and led workshops on how to effectively present cases before the Appeals Board. Mr. Melgoza has additional experience as an administrative law judge for the California Public Employment Relations Board and as an attorney for the Agricultural Labor Relations Board and the California Rural Legal Assistance. He served a 5-year term as a member of the Los Angeles City Employee Relations Board, a quasi-adjudicative body administering employment laws that cover Los Angeles city employees.
Mr. Melgoza earned his law degree from UCLA and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1979. He received his undergraduate degree from Loyola-Marymount University in 1976. He is admitted to practice in all California courts and one Federal Circuit court. He is bilingual (Spanish-English).
MADELINE KIM SCATES, ESQ.
Ms. Scates is a partner with Donnell Melgoza and Scates. She has represented hundreds of California employers and participated in thousands of proceedings before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board defending employers when a "Serious and Willful Misconduct" Petition has been filed. Her practice also includes defending employers in Labor Code Section 132(a) discrimination claims, and alleged violations of safety regulations before the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. Ms. Scates has been litigating cases before the Workers Compensation Appeals Board for over 30 years and employer’s interests in “Cal/OSHA” cases for over a decade. Although she currently only represents California companies on uninsurable claims, she has a unique prospective having represented injured employees when she first started practicing law in California.
Often after an accident, California employers are issued citations by Cal/OSHA and shortly thereafter a serious and willful misconduct petition is filed in the workers’ compensation proceeding involving the same incident. Ms. Scates ensures the interests of the employer are concurrently represented in each proceeding. Employers are typically unaware that one accident at the work site may result in Cal/OSHA citations being issued, the filing of a workers compensation claim including a serious and willful misconduct claim, a civil complaint against the employer and/or third parties, and potential employer criminal liability via the referral of the case from the Cal/OSHA Bureau of Investigations to the District Attorney. Ms. Scates has significant experience with this type of “complex” litigation and assists her clients in navigating through this complicated process.
Prior to moving to California, Ms. Scates was employed as a staff attorney with the United States Department of Interior, Office of Hearings and Appeals, in Washington D.C., where she drafted orders and opinions in contract, land, and personnel appeals, and at the State of Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals where she wrote opinions and orders on behalf of the Presiding Judge.
Education
Ms. Scates received two Bachelor of Arts degrees (Political Science and Sociology) from the University of Southern California, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law.
Affiliations
Ms. Scates is admitted to the California State Bar and is licensed to practice law in all California courts.
Noteworthy Cases
California Supreme Court, Camper v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board of the State of California, J.C. Penny Company, Inc. (1992) 3 Cal.4th 679, 836 P.2d 888, 57 Cal. Comp. Cases. 644.
California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, Ford Construction Company, Inc., v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (2010) 75 Cal. Comp. Cases 953 (unpublished).
California Court of Appeal , First Appellate District, Bigge v. Crane & Rigging co., v. WCAB (Paul Hunt) (2010) 75 Cal. Comp. Cases 1089.
Matthew S. McMillan, ESQ.
Associate
Matthew S. McMillan has been employed by Donnell, Melgoza & Scates LLP since September of 2021. Mr. McMillan’s practice includes defending employers accused of safety violations by Cal/OSHA and defending employers against Workers' Compensation "Serious and Willful" claims.
From 2016 to 2021, Mr. McMillan was employed as a criminal defense attorney, where he represented thousands of defendants accused of crimes. He drafted and argued hundreds of motions in California Superior Court, and represented defendants in 17 jury trials. His extensive experience with litigation and the real world practices of prosecutors and judges has proven invaluable in his transition to his current practice.
As an employee of the firm, Mr. McMillan has advised and represented employers in every stage of occupational safety and health proceedings, from the occurrence of occupational accidents, through investigations, discovery, trials, and appeals.
