Melissa Barry grew up in a small town in Northeastern Ohio. All her life, Melissa knew that she was going to be practicing law. She worked diligently to do so. Melissa obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Criminal Justice and then returned near her hometown to attend law school at the University of Akron. While attending law school, Melissa worked as a teacher's aide doing research and comparing felony murder statutes in various states. Melissa was also involved in a clinical program where she represented clients charged with misdemeanor offenses in Summit County through the Legal Defender's Office. After the time for the clinical expired, Melissa was employed as an intern continuing to represent misdemeanor clients.
Melissa began working for the Las Vegas City Attorney's Office in 2008 representing the City of Las Vegas in misdemeanor prosecutions, including driving under the influence, domestic violence offenses, drug offenses, theft offenses and even vehicular manslaughter prosecutions. She was also responsible for charging cases submitted to the City Attorney's Office for prosecution. During her employment with the Las Vegas City Attorney's Office, Melissa handled countless bench trials and responded to - and argued - countless motions by defense counsel.
After taking the Arizona bar exam, Melissa became a Deputy County Attorney with the Mohave County Attorney's Office. While working in that capacity, she handled misdemeanor prosecutions, juvenile prosecutions and felony prosecutions. This allowed Melissa to continue conducting bench trials and jury trials. Melissa did not have a jury trial during her time there where a defendant was acquitted of all charges, winning all of her trials. While handling a variety of felony cases, Melissa supervised misdemeanor attorneys. Melissa was trained extensively in DUI and DV prosecution and engaged in additional training every year covering a variety of topics.
After prosecuting, Melissa realized her passion for working in the private sector protecting the rights and liberties of people involved in both criminal and civil litigation. While practicing criminal defense, Melissa conducted more jury trials and continued with an excellent record. She is excited to help you keep your rights protected.
Since venturing into private representation of clients Melissa has mainly focused on criminal defense and family law. She is empathetic and understanding as to not add additional stress to an already intimidating time. Additionally, Melissa is one of the National Women's Trial Lawyers Top 25 for 2021.
Melissa's criminal experience has made her an excellent trial attorney and she is able to help people outside of the criminal law to protect their rights, help with both tumultuous and peaceful divorces, and help you fight for custody of your child and child support while helping you feel at ease. Call today and she will be happy to help you with your legal concerns.
Education
University of Akron School of Law, Akron, Ohio
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada
Major: Criminal Justice
Bar Admission
Arizona, 2010
Nevada, 2008
Honors
National Women's Trial Lawyers Top 25
National Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers
National Top 100 Trial Lawyers
Past Positions
Las Vegas City Attorney's Office, 2008
Mohave County Attorney's Office, Deputy County Attorney
Rideout Law Group, 2015 - 2020
Practice Areas
Criminal Defense
Expungement
Record Sealing
Estate Planning
Personal Injury
Family Law
Traffic Tickets
Bankruptcy
Other Civil Litigation
