Melvin S. Spears is a partner at the Beverly Hills law firm of Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP where he is the Head of the firm's Taxation Department and a member of the Business and Corporate Law, Healthcare Law, and Estate Planning, Probate and Trusts Departments.

Mr. Spears is admitted to the State Bar of California and the United States Tax Court.  He received his J.D. from the University of Southern California in 1951, where he was a member of Nu Beta Epsilon, the Order of the Coif and served on the Editorial Board, Southern California Law Review.  Mr. Spears attended the University of California at Los Angeles earning an A.A. degree in 1948.

Mr. Spears is author of Disposition of Non Marital Deduction Assets; Tax and Family Protection Considerations, 1975, New York University Institute on Federal Taxation 231; Problems Relating to Administration of Trust Assets, Chapter 9, Inter Vivos Trusts, Shepards Citations, Inc., 1975; Problems Relating to the Nature of Trust Assets, Chapter 12, Drafting California Irrevocable Inter Vivos Trusts, California Continuing Education of the Bar, 1973; Capital Gains Upon the Sale of Professional Practices and Personal‑Service Businesses, 1965, University of Southern California Tax Institute 687; Mortgages in Excess of Basis, 1959, University of Southern California Tax Institute 883; Tax Treatment of Deferred Payment Sales, 1958, University of Southern California Tax Institute 663.  He is co‑author of Tax‑Free Exchanges of Real and Business Property, J.K. Lasser's Income Tax Techniques, 1965; Current Planning in Sales and Exchanges of Real Estate, 1963, University of Southern California Tax Institute 135; and Recent Developments in the Taxation of Trusts, 1960, University of Southern California Tax Institute 567.

Mr. Spears is a member of the Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County and American Bar Associations; he was a member of the Planning Committee of the University of Southern California Tax Institute, 1976-1993; and of the Faculty of the University of Southern California Law Center, 1961-1968.