Melissa Brown is a family law practitioner in Charleston, SC, and a Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1991, and she has practiced family law exclusively since 1993.

In May 2010, she joined the Houston Family Law Trial Institute at the South Texas School of Law as a faculty member for their annual ten day intensive trial advocacy program. Typically, the program accepts 48 experienced family law attorneys from across the United States who are taught an advanced family law trial program. South Texas College of Law is also nationally known for its own award winning trial advocacy program, especially since the school has won more trial advocacy awards than any other law school in the United State of America. Previously, she graduated from the ABA Family Law Trial Advocacy School, an intensive trial program for practicing family law attorneys, in 2001.

Melissa is a past Chair of the SC Family Law Council, Co-Chair of the SC Hot Tips Family Law CLE Program (’08-’10) and Co-Chair of the SC Advanced Family Law CLE Program (’04,’08). She recently returned to the SC Family Law Council as a representative. When she served as Chair, the Council published the first SC Family Lawyers’ Tool Kit. Recently, she helped write the second edition of the Toolkit (Spring of 2010). Melissa is also a Fellow, International Academy of Matrimonial Law (IAML).

Melissa is very involved with the ABA Family Law Section having serving in a variety of roles: Judge for the ABA Schwab Family Law Legal Writing Contest (’07-’08); Co-Chair of the ABA Family Law CLE Sponsorship Committee and Co-Editor of the ABA CLE daily Newsletters (’08 Spring and Fall, ’09 Spring conferences).

Melissa has presented CLEs to local, state, national and international audiences for the SC Bar, ABA FLS, the National Business Institute, the Legal Education Institute and the Atticus Legal Consulting Group. Recently, she was a guest speaker for the Citadel Masters Counseling Program. In 2008, she graduated from the Buckley School of Public Speaking.
Melissa has written many family law related articles that were published in national and state journals, including the SC Law Review, the American Journal of Family Law, the State Bar of Georgia Family Law Review, The South Carolina Lawyer, and the ABA Family Law Section E-Newsletter. Some of her articles are also cited in Am. Jur. Proof of Facts, Am. Jur. Trials, and other journals.

Melissa graduated from the University of Virginia in 1987 with a B.A. in History, American Studies Program. In 1991, she received her JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, she was a member of the Order of the Barristers, the National Moot Court Team and the Moot Court Bar. After law school, she clerked for the Hon. William L. Howard, served as an assistant solicitor for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and in 1993, she entered private practice.

Firm Information:
Melissa F. Brown, LLC
145 King Street, Suite 405
Charleston, SC 29401

Phone: (843) 722-8900
Fax: (843) 722-8922

Website: http://www.melissa-brown.com

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