Admitted: 1989, Washington
Law School: University of Oklahoma, J.D.
Member: Thurston County (Member, Family Law Section; Former President and Founding Member, Young Lawyers) and Washington State (Former Member, Board of Trustees, Young Lawyers Division) Bar Associations.
Biography: The first family law clients Melissa Denton served were folks that the lawyer she began working for in 1990 did not want. This is normal for an associate starting out in any law firm. Even though Melissa's boss did not want the clients, the clients did want Melissa. When her boss gave her 30 days notice under the employment contract she had written before starting the job, each client working with Melissa demanded that she continue to work for them. These first clients were the reason Melissa Denton started her own firm at the beginning of 1991. Melissa expanded her practice, at that time, to include employment law because she had experience from some state jobs working in that field. Her first employment law client was the owner of the county fair pig racing outfit. His business set up and ran the pig races at various fairs and festivals. He had concerns about an employee and his liabilities related to her actions. About ten years later, Melissa restricted her practice to only family law cases. Her focus now is on helping folks who want to resolve their cases with a minimum of ugly court action. While the courts are useful when folks just can't agree, it is so much wiser to handle personal family issues privately and with a minimum of expense when reasonable agreements can be reached. When the court is needed, Melissa tries to keep that expensive alternative to a minimum so that families can begin to heal in a new form rather than being further damaged by the adversarial process required in court. Melissa has pioneered a new way of practicing law, called One Lawyer, and also began a business called Advantage Denton which finds the right lawyer for clients. She enjoys practicing family law in Thurston County (and Mason and Lewis Counties) and operating Advantage Denton.
Cases: In re Marriage of Rideout,. 150 Wn.2d 337, 359, 77 P.3d 1174 (2003).