AV – PREEMINENT RATING by Martindale-Hubbell

Matt Melone has been honored with the AV-PREEMINENT Rating by Martindale-Hubbell. The AV Rating is the highest possible rating in both Legal Ability and Ethical Standards. The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings “attest to a lawyer’s legal ability and professional ethics, and likewise reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Attorney Bar. The AV-PREEMINENT Rating is a testament to the fact that this lawyer’s peers rank him at the highest level of professional excellence.” To learn more about the Martindale-Hubbell Ratings, please click on the following internet link: https://www.martindale.com

About Matt Melone, Attorney

I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am a third generation attorney. Both my father, Jerry M. Melone, and my grandfather, James P. Melone, were attorneys who graduated from the University of Tulsa Law School. I attended Edison High School and two years of undergraduate school at the University of Tulsa, before completing my undergraduate degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In 1983, I earned my Bachelor of Arts Degree (with Special Honors) in Political Science at George Washington University. During that time, I also attended the Russian language summer study immersion program at Norwich College in Vermont. In 1986, I earned my Law Degree from the George Washington University National Law Center. While earning my law degree, I also attended Oxford University in England through the University of San Diego’s summer study program in International Law. In 1986, after earning my law degree, I returned to Tulsa and joined my father in private law practice. In 1990, I was sworn into the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. In 1995, I transitioned to practice law as a solo attorney. Since then, I have been honored to practice law under the family name, Melone & Melone.

Since 2007, I have been honored to carry the prestigious:

AV-PREEMINENT Rating by Martindale-Hubbell

I limit my law practice to matters involving the following areas:

Personal Injury Claims
Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
Wrongful Death Claims

TRUMPET BLAST TRILOGY (Anthology by Matt Melone)

PREFACE: The Trumpet Blast Trilogy is an Anthology of inspirational world literature, poetry, and artwork. It is inspired by the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who in 1836 suggested that readers create their own personal books of reflection and inspiration, following the Renaissance practice of collecting writings that resonate like the sound of a trumpet. This book is intended as a celebration of the diversity of our world and is dedicated to the best of humanity. Most of the included authors are recipients of international awards, including Nobel Prize winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, as well as the highest honors endowed by the many countries spanning the globe.

This Anthology was created to foster the open-minded respect for the many and varied philosophies, religions, and socio-political ideologies around the world. Historically, human intolerance has been the poisonous undertone of our earthly pilgrimage. Intolerance causes discord, hate, and a violent penchant to overcome dissent with brutality. It has been wisely observed that if we would hope to change the world, then perhaps we should begin with ourselves individually. An attitude of genuine humility leads to the mutual respect for the ideas and convictions of others, while still allowing the sincere pursuit of our own individual convictions.

If humankind hopes to overcome the myopic tendency to believe that only one philosophy, religion, or form of government is valid, then we must first learn to embrace diversity of thought and faith. As so many of our enlightened ancestors have observed, humanity will not survive unless we learn to extend our circle of compassion beyond our own family, country, religion, and culture. Our future depends on our willingness to extend our allegiance to all of Humanity, to Life in all its many forms, to all of Nature, and finally to the Earth herself, our collective habitat.

The full version of this Anthology is free for anyone to enjoy:

* This Anthology is not intended for sale or publication. To the extent that any of the collected materials included in this Anthology are not in the public domain, such materials may be subject to copyright and trademark protection by the writers referenced.

* Excerpts from THE TRUMPET BLAST TRILOGY:

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882): “Make your own book: select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been like the blast of a trumpet.” Emerson’s words refer to the Renaissance practice of compiling favorite quotes, poems, letters, and passages into a simple book for reflection and inspiration.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) / Nobel Prize Nominee: “Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind is not common, but it is essential for right thinking.”

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) / Nobel Prize 1921: “A human being is a part of the whole called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and his feelings as something separated from the rest. This is an optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

James Michener (1907-1997) / Pulitzer Prize (1948): “This is the journey that every person must make: to find himself. If he fails in this, then it doesn’t matter much what else he finds. Money, position, fame, many loves: all of these are of such little consequence. When the tickets are collected at the end of the ride, such things are tossed into the bin marked meaningless. But, if a man happens to find himself – if he knows what he can be depended upon to do, the limits of his courage, the positions from which he will no longer retreat, the degree to which he can surrender his inner life, the secret reservoirs of his determination, the extent of his dedication, the depth of his feeling for beauty, his honest and unpostured goals – then he has found a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.”