- Melissa provides legal advice and case strategy to individual clients who are in the thick of domestic and international family law disputes. She is a strategic litigator and advisor, and is known for helping her clients understand the process and the practical outcomes available to them.
- Melissa provides creative and thoughtful analysis and strategy for clients who are involved in multi-jurisdictional family law cases. She will work with the client to understand their options, and build a team to achieve their best outcome. Melissa works as part of the team to help the client address the complex international issues in their family law case.
- Melissa provides services as a neutral intermediary. She works with individuals to craft a comprehensive and uniquely tailored solution to their family dispute. Melissa sits on five D.C. metro area court mediation panels (meaning she meets the stringent criteria to sit on each), and has over 300 hours of mediation and dispute resolution training. When appropriate, Melissa is trained and offers services as a collaborative lawyer and as a parent coordinator.
- Melissa helps clients design a divorce process that addresses the unique needs of multi-jurisdictional families. From selecting a forum, enforcing foreign orders, authenticating overseas documents, to finding support networks, navigating government processes, and assembling a competent team, Melissa engineers the client's divorce process from Day One. The client leaves with a comprehensive plan to build their best divorce.
- Melissa is consulted by counsel in the United States and overseas to provide legal information, case strategy, research, legal opinions, work product reviews, and guidance to navigate complex jurisdictional issues, including on issues of custody, relocation, child abduction, support, maintenance, apostille, judgment enforcement, and overseas service of process.
- Melissa testifies as an expert witness on child abduction and child abduction prevention laws, research, and resources, including complex international child abduction situations.
- Melissa is qualified to be court-appointed in Maryland and D.C. to represent children in contested custody litigation. She has also represented children in cases brought under The Hague Child Abduction Convention. Melissa has authored “A Practical Handbook for the Child’s Attorney: Effectively Representing Children in Custody Cases” for the American Bar Association.
- Melissa works with organizations to provide advice on creating appropriate processes and structures to help their employees with their family law disputes.
- Melissa provides lectures and trainings to organization staff to work with individuals who are having family disputes.
- Melissa designs advanced family mediation trainings, and has worked with the American Bar Association, the Tokyo Bar Association, the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the University of California at Hastings Law to offer these trainings.