Melissa Moriarty Gast

I first came to know Melissa Gast in August of 2013 when first confronted with the reality that I was getting divorced. Initially electing to represent myself, I found that I could handle everything coming at me just fine, and really benefitted from being a thorough, reasonable, logical, and analytic...al person. Then, my soon-to-be ex-wife made a series of adversarial decisions that resulted in false accusations, extensive private and police investigations, open-court lies, and everything one could imagine facing in a worst-case scenario. I selected 10 attorneys to interview within the Columbus area, each one of them highly referred by friends, family, and/or legal professionals. I found Melissa Gast on Avvo and she became #9 on my list - with #10 being a stalwart in the field. MY thoughts were that if none of the first nine made the cut, attorney #10 would have to be the one for me. Covering allot of ground in just two days of my search - I came to the conclusion that none of the first eight attorneys were well-suited for the job. On the way to Ms. Gast's office, I was enveloped with a sense of foregone defeat, and I even dialed the number of attorney #10 on the way and told her I would be to her office in the next hour. I almost cancelled my appointment with Ms. Gast, but decided to see it through as she was the only attorney on the list that I had picked myself. Meeting me at the door of her small office, Ms. Gast exuded confidence and compassion. I quickly realized that I did not like the used-car sales floor feel I felt meeting with each of the first eight attorneys. Ms. Gast warmly and efficiently moved through a series of inquiries to gain an appreciation for my situation, my life, my family, my personality, and my goals for this term of my life. Taking close and attentive notes on paper as we spoke, she not once lost track of our conversation and I never felt as though I was "just another client". After about 30-minutes of emotional dumping and factual offloading of information, Ms. Gast demonstrated one of her key strengths as she brilliantly recapped our conversation in perfect form and with emphasis in every correct place, demonstrating her ability to listen, think, feel, and work at the same moment. Cutting to the chase - Ms. Gast stood at my side and represented me with heart, skill, and diligence throughout the entirety of what turned out to be a 33-month divorce and custody war fraught with a multitude of false allegations involving child abuse in what was termed to be a relentless string of allegations of the worst kind that was brightly capped with nearly 12 days of trial. I asked for one thing - for Ms. Gast to protect me and my relationship with my son. Ms. Gast delivered in EVERY regard with poise, and now that the dust has cleared, I find myself with full custody of my little boy (he was 2.5 yrs. old at the outset and 5.5 yrs. old now) and a bright and safe path ahead of us. Not once did I feel like a number or a case or a job. Rather, I was intimately involved and encouraged to participate and contribute to my own defense as Ms. Gast tailored her approach to meet my expectations and stomach for the war... cookie-cutter is not what this attorney offers her clients. You can spend a great deal more by hiring a marquee name or an attorney with a scorched earth approach to your life if that sort of thing makes you feel good and you can still sleep at night. You can file all kinds and sorts of motions and replies and challenge every micro-nuance of every nuance and even believe that mythical story about recouping the legal fees when it is all over via some type of award or judgment. But, if you want to preserve your assets and dignity while protecting your family - and especially if you value honesty, integrity, loyalty, compassion, diligence, truth, skill, professionalism, and legal acumen - skip the marquee names and the egos and schedule a consult with Ms. Gast as soon as possible.