Melissa specializes in defending healthcare providers facing professional liability claims. Since completing a clerkship in the federal district court in Atlanta, she has spent her career defending healthcare providers from pre-suit investigation through appeal and assisted her clients in all types of interactions with the civil legal system such as navigating depositions, responding to subpoenas and requests for records, and government investigations. She is an experienced litigator, regularly appearing in hearings and depositions, as well as trying several cases to jury. “Healthcare providers spend their days and their careers helping people, in increasingly complicated systems. It is an honor to represent them, to ensure they can continue serving their communities.”
Academic Credentials
Vanderbilt University, B.A.
Emory School of Law, J.D.
Admitted to Practice
Georgia
North Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Career Highlights
Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent®, 2016 – 2025
Super Lawyers Mid-South, 2021 – 2024
Super Lawyers Georgia Rising Star, 2012-2020 ed.
Atlanta Bar Association, 2007–2019
– Judicial Tenure & Selection Committee (2017–2019)
– Member at Large, Board (2014–2016)
– Board, Women in Profession Section (2007–2014)
Atlanta Legal Aid, Distinguished Service Award, 2012
Law Clerk, Judge Tidwell, United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia, 2004 – 2006
Order of the Coif, Emory University School of Law, 2004
Intern, Field Placement, Justice Hugh Thompson, Georgia Supreme Court, Fall 2002
Full Bio