Melissa is a partner in Gentry Locke's Criminal and Investigations practice.
Prior to joining Gentry Locke, Melissa worked for more than 15 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. While at the USAO, Melissa also served as the Criminal Chief of the Norfolk Division where she directly supervised the white-collar unit responsible for authorizing and managing fraud, public corruption, securities, national security, and civil rights investigations and prosecutions. As an AUSA, Melissa successfully litigated some of the district's highest profile public corruption trials, including cases against former Norfolk Sheriff Robert McCabe, former Norfolk Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot, and former Norfolk Police Detective Robert Glenn Ford. Melissa also led the investigation and prosecution of numerous complex fraud cases, such as the case against executives responsible for the financial collapse of the Bank of the Commonwealth, a $25 million securities fraud case against the Chief Executive of an investment firm, and a $7 million Ponzi scheme involving a Virginia lawyer. For her work as a federal prosecutor, Melissa received the Women in Federal Law Enforcement's Top Prosecutor award and she was a two-time recipient of EOUSA's Director's Award.