Melinda J. Bentley

Legal Ethics Counsel

Melinda J. Bentley serves as Legal Ethics Counsel in Missouri where she provides oral and written informal advisory opinions to attorneys on issues related to the Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct. In that position, she also serves as administrator and counsel to the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri. She began serving in that position in 2012. Prior to that she worked for the Illinois State Bar Association as Assistant Counsel from 2001-03, First Assistant Counsel from 2003-11, and Assistant Director of Legislative Affairs from 2009-11. She is a frequent speaker and author on professional responsibility matters. Ms. Bentley currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Planning Committee for the American Bar Association (ABA) Center for Professional Responsibility’s National Conference on Professional Responsibility, and is a member of the ABA Professionalism Committee, the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility Coordinating Council, the Planning Committee for The Missouri Bar Solo and Small Firm Conference, and the National Organization of Bar Counsel’s Committees on Amicus, Website, and Program. She was a board member and officer of the National Organization of Bar Counsel from 2015-2020, including a term as President from 2018-2019, and formerly served on the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility (2020-2023), Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers’ Manual on Professional Conduct as a member (2015-2016) and Chair (2016-2018), as well as a member of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility Coordinating Council (2016-2018). She is licensed in both Missouri and Illinois, and is a member of The Missouri Bar, Illinois State Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Organization of Bar Counsel, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Cole County Bar Association, and Mid-Missouri Women Lawyers’ Association.