Having lived in continental Europe for decades, Melissa works at the intersection of international law, litigation, and health, often representing European claimants in U.S. medical-related legal proceedings.

Early in her legal career, Melissa practiced medical malpractice defense litigation, although she later made the switch to predominantly representing plaintiffs rather than defendants. Both as plaintiffs’ and defense counsel, Melissa’s experience and training as a Registered Nurse helped with developing litigation strategies and evaluating cases with an eye toward possible resolution. As such, Melissa is able to effectively and proactively apply her unique cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise.

Melissa is board certified in International Law by The Florida Bar and has served the Bar as a member, vice-chair and chair of Florida’s International Law Certification Committee. She is also one of just a few attorneys in the United States who is also a Civil Law Notary. Always interested in alternative dispute resolution, Melissa completed a post-graduate course in mediation at Harvard. She's also conversant in German, which comes in handy with cross-border cases involving parties from German speaking countries.

Being one of the founding members of Global Justice Network ('GJN'), Melissa has served GJN as a member of the board and its chair for over 8 years and, in this context, has evaluated and developed cases, coordinated litigation in multiple jurisdictions, and has successfully negotiated and arranged third-party litigation funding for cross-border mass claims. Melissa has significant experience assisting a steering committee representing the rights of consumers in an existing large group claim.