Melissa A. Graham-Hurd Attorney

First Admitted: 1984, Ohio

Professional Webpage: http://www.grahamhurdlaw.com/attorney-profile/melissa-graham...

Bar/Professional Activity:

Ohio State Bar Assocciation Solo and Small Firm Section - Chair of the Board of Editors
Ohio State Bar Association, Council of Delegates, 2001 - Present
Chair, Ethics/Professionalism Committee, Ohio State Bar Association
Chair, Ohio State Bar Association, Family Law Committee, 2002 - 2004
Ohio Supreme Court, Advisory Committee on Families, Children and the Court, 2003 - 2007
Fellow, Ohio State Bar Foundation, 2003 - Present
Ohio State Bar Association - Board of Governors
Fellow, Akron Bar Foundation
Chair, Akron Bar Association, Family Law Section, 1994
Chair, Ohio State Bar Association, Family Law Legislative Drafting Subcommittee, 1996 - 1998
Co-Chair, Special Committee to Review Gender Fairness Task Force Report , 2009 - 2012
Vice Chair Juvenile Committee, Ohio State Bar Association, 2004 - 2005
Vice-Chair, Akron Bar Association, Family Law Section, 1993
Vice-Chair, Ohio State Bar Association, Family Law Committee, 2000 - 2002
Vice Chair, Akron Bar Association, Law Week Committee, 1989 - 1991
Secretary, Ohio State Bar Association, Family Law Committee, 1998 - 2000
Secretary/Treasurer, Akron Bar Association, Family Law Section, 1989 - 1992
Ohio State Bar Association, Professionalism Committee, 2012 - Present; renamed Ethics Committee, Chair 2016 - 2018
Member, Ohio State Bar Association, Family Law Committee, 1987 - Present
Ohio State Bar Association, Family Law Committee Spousal Support Committee, 2000 - Present
Mentoring, Akron Bar Association, 1990 - 1992
Akron Bar Association, Grievance Committee, 1989 - 1991
Ohio State Bar Association, Solo and Small Firm Section, 2006 - Present
Member, Ohio State Bar Association, 2001 - Present
Member, Akron Bar Association, 1984 - Present
Akron Bar Association, Young Lawyers Committee, 1984 - 1992
Member, Ohio Women's Bar Association
American Bar Association, Family Law Committee, 1987 - Present
Member, Stark County Bar Family Law Committee
Member, Ohio State Bar Association, 1990 - 2002
Member, Akron Bar Association, Family Law Section, 1985 - Present
Member, Stark County Bar Association
Akron Bar Association, Bar Applicants Interviews, 1993 - 1994
Ohio State Bar Association, Family Relations Specialty Committee, 2004 - Present
Member, Akron Bar Association, Law Week Committee, 1984 - 1993
U.S. Supreme Court, 1999
U.S. Court of Appeals 6th Circuit, 1990
Member, Ohio State Bar Association, Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee, 2006 - 2012
U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio, 1985
Ohio, 1984
Member, Ohio State Bar Association College, 1987 - Present
Akron Bar Association, Women in the Law, 2009 - Present
Member, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

DePiero v. Macedonia - 6th Cir. 180 F.3d 770 - a civil rights suit successfully brought against a municipality holding mayor's court, 1999

Representative Clients:

Ordinary men and women going through the toughest parts of their lives, the breakup of their relationships, and determining how to arrange parenting responsibilities.

Special Licenses/Certifications:

University of Akron, Center for Dispute Resolution, Certificate in Peace Studies, 1980

Pro bono/Community Service:

American Bar Association Military Pro Bono Project - Provides services to military service members through JAG offices
Many cases handled at low cost or no cost for qualified lower income individuals with family relations difficulties through volunteer agency.

Honors/Awards:

Fellow - Akron Bar Foundation
Fellow, Ohio State Bar Foundation

Educational Background:

JD - University of Akron School of Law, 1983
University of Akron, B.A. in English and French, 1980

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Tax Aspects of Divorce in Ohio, Miscellaneous Tax Provisions and Ethics, National Business Institute, 1999
Coordination/Organization of Seminar, Ohio State Bar Association Family Law Committee - Annual Conventions, 1998
Family Law in Ohio, Analysis of Financial Information, Preparation and Trial of a Divorce Case, National Business Institute, 1996
Parenting Issues in Domestic Relations Cases in Ohio, Modification Proceedings, Evidentiary Problems in Initial Allocations and Modifications, National Business Institute, 1996
Tax Aspects of Divorce in Ohio, Miscellaneous Tax Provisions and Ethics, National Business Institute, 1995
Rules Update, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1995
Case Law Update, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1994
The New Child Support Statute, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1993
Tax Aspects of Divorce in Ohio, Miscellaneous Tax Provisions and Ethics, National Business Institute, 1993
Bridge the Gap Seminar, Domestic Relations Section, Ohio CLE Institute, 1993
New Lawyers' Seminar, Domestic Relations Sections, Akron Bar Association Young Lawyers Committee, 1990 - 1993
Tax Aspects of Divorce in Ohio, Tax Treatment of Property Transfers Incident to a Divorce, Miscellaneous Tax Provisions, National Business Institute, 1992
Creative Approaches when Seeking Visitation and New Developments in Child Custody Cases Involving the Use or Misuse of MMPIs, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers - Annual Family Law Seminar, 1991
The Need to Value Marital Property, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1991
Ethical, Procedural and Evidentiary Considerations in Sexual Abuse Cases, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers - Annual Family Law Seminar, 1990
Property Division - Separate and Marital Real Estate, Ohio State Bar Association, 2012
Deviation from Child Support Guidelines, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1989
Case Law Update, Akron Bar Association, 2009
Complication of Handbook of Forms for Portage, Stark and Medina, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1987
Ohio Spousal Support Law, Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2006
National Trends in Spousal support , Akron Bar Association - Annual Rosen Seminar, 2013
New Ohio Family Law Legislation, Akron Bar Association, 2005
Shared Parenting Plans, Akron Bar Association, 2017
Ohio Spousal Support Proposals, Ohio Association of Magistrates, 2005
Gender Fairness project results, Akron Bar Association, 2012
Ohio Family Law Legislation, Akron Bar Association, 2004
Post-Decree Children's Issues, Ohio State Bar Association Family Law Committee - Annual Conventions, 2003
Tax and Divorce - A Practical Approach, Ohio CLE Institute, 2003
Ethics and Malpractice, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 2002
"Networking Websites", Domestic Relations Journal of Ohio, West Publishing Co., September/October 2010
"Attorney Fees", Domestic Relations Journal of Ohio, West Publishing Co., July/August, 2003
"Law in the 50 States", (Ohio Reporter), American Bar Association Family Law Quarterly, several years
Gender Fairness, Akron Bar Association, 2012
Government Retirement Benefits, Sowald Morganstern Domestic Relations Law, Baldwin's Ohio Practice Series, West Group Publishers, 1997, Updated Annually
New Lawyers' Seminar, Domestic Relations, Akron Bar Association Young Lawyers Committee, 2002
Coordination/Organization of Seminar, Ohio State Bar Association Family Law Committee - Annual Conventions, 2001 - 2002
Parenting Case Law Update, Akron Bar Association, Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 2000
Shared Parenting Case Law Update, Akron Bar Association Family Law Section - Annual Seminar, 1999

Firm News (Newsletters):

Who Decides the disposition of Your Body?
What to Expect in Divorce Mediation
Relocating after Divorce with a child
Parent Coordination in Ohio
Student Loans and Divorce - who is responsible?
Experienced attorneys can assist obligees who know they are owed unpaid child support to file the appropriate motions in court, asking for judgments on arrears, and enforcing the child support by requiring certain steps and payments be made, Collecting Overdue Child Support in Ohio
How Ohio's child support guidelines address Health Insurance expenses and Support for Other Children, Adjustments from Child Support Guidelines in Ohio
Adjustment from Child Support Guidelines for Parenting Time in Ohio
What is Gross Income for Ohio Child Support?
Planning for later-in-life divorce, Grey Divorce
What counts as childcare, and how the child support guideline worksheets address those expenses, Child Care Expenses in calculating Child Support in Ohio
Requirements in a step-parent adoption, Step Parent Adoption in Ohio
If you’ve gotten divorced within the last year, there is one more change you are probably dealing with right now: filing your income taxes without a spouse. , Tax Tips for Divorcing Parents
When will a court change the figures for child support called for on the worksheet?, Deviating from Ohio's Child Support Guidelines

Industry Groups:

Divorce
Domestic Relations
Family
Juvenile Law

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