Melissa has been practicing family law exclusively since 1999. She focuses in complicated and high net-worth divorce cases as well as high conflict custody disputes and also has considerable experience in all areas of family law, including, but not limited to, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, equitable distribution of marital property, alimony and child support, parenting time, termination of parental rights and adoption, and post-divorce litigation. While Melissa is a seasoned litigator, she believes strongly in alternative forms of dispute resolution and is a trained mediator, listed by the Tennessee Supreme Court as a Rule 31 approved family law mediator since 2012. She regularly employs the skills she has gleaned from her experiences in conducting numerous family law mediations to negotiate and reach favorable settlements for her own clients. Melissa has also served as a Guardian ad Litem, a court-appointed attorney for children who are the subject of custody disputes, and as a Special Master, appointed by judges and charged with resolving or making recommendations to the Court on important issues of fact and law, in the courts of Shelby County on numerous occasions. Melissa practices in the Juvenile, Chancery, and Circuit Courts of Shelby County as well as in the surrounding counties of West Tennessee and in all appellate courts of Tennessee.
A native of Arkansas, Melissa is a cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rhodes College where she was a two-year member of the regional and national mock trial team. Melissa received her law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 1999, where she was a member of the Moot Court Board and the national mock trial team. Melissa also served as the law clerk for the Honorable D’Army Bailey, Judge of the Circuit Court of Shelby County, Tennessee for the Thirtieth Judicial District from 1998-1999, as a third-year law student.
Among her professional accomplishments and affiliations, Melissa is a member of the Memphis Bar Foundation, the Association of Women Attorneys, and the Memphis Bar Association. She was also recently peer-selected to join the Memphis ADR Inn of Court.
Outside the office, Melissa enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling. Melissa resides in Memphis with her husband and daughter.