About Melissa
Melissa Graham-Hurd earned her J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law in 1980. She entered practice at a time when the legal landscape in Ohio was changing. Over the decades she has built a steady professional presence and remained active in bar work.
Her admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit and the Ohio courts. Those credentials reflect years of courtroom and appellate work. Colleagues describe her as a lawyer who pays attention to procedural detail and to the ethical dimensions of practice.
Graham-Hurd has been closely involved in Ohio State Bar Association affairs for many years. She has served on the OSBA Council of Delegates since 2001. She chaired the OSBA Ethics Committee from 2016 to 2018 and served on the Board of Governors from 2010 to 2013. Earlier she led the Family Law Committee as its chair from 2006 to 2008. She remains an active member of several OSBA committees, including Family Law, Ethics, Juvenile, and the Solo and Small Firm Section.
Her engagement extends to the local bar. She chaired the Akron Bar Association Family Law Committee from 2001 to 2003. Those leadership roles have involved rule proposals, committee reporting and mentoring newer attorneys. They have also given her a steady platform to weigh in on ethics and family-law practice issues at both the county and state level.
Graham-Hurd runs Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates LLC. The firm handles family law matters, juvenile cases and related professional responsibility questions. Her practice blends litigation and counseling. She represents clients in hearings and appeals and advises on procedural and ethical concerns that arise in custody, divorce and juvenile proceedings.
She has balanced practice with bar service for much of her career. That balance has kept her plugged into evolving ethics opinions and case law that affect daily courtroom work. It also means she continues to take part in committee work and section activities that shape practice standards in Ohio.
She maintains an active practice at Melissa Graham-Hurd & Associates LLC, concentrating on family law, juvenile matters and professional responsibility issues.
