Melissa Jo Ann Houghtaling

Ending relationships is never easy and when children are involved it is even more difficult. I contacted Melissa for help in securing parenting time with my daughter. Melissa listened to my situation and its complexity - and began to work right away. Melissa did an excellent job of gathering all the ...facts and details she needed and prepared me for the fight that was ahead. She did a wonderful job of keeping my expectations realistic and kept me focused on the big picture. Melissa was well prepared and knew every aspect of the case inside and out. And, during the hearing, she even quoted multiple family law codes on the spot and was quite prepared in anticipating what the opposing counselor would do. Melissa and her team are extremely professional and were very compassionate throughout the process. I felt assured and comfortable working with Melissa - knowing that she had the best interest of my child in mind and would fight on my behalf for my rights and for my child. I now get to see my daughter on a very frequent and regular basis and I continue to have a significant role in her life. I will be eternally grateful for everything that Melissa has done for my family.

I had been working with another lawyer for over a year, costing a lot of money and making very little progress towrds a divorce settlement. I finally hired Melissa in August, we had a hearing In September, successful mediation in October and a final decree in December. She did not let the oppo...sing attorney waste time or unnecessarily complicate the process. She was always respectful of me and my feelings, and kept all interactions with the opposition calm, and productive, and did an excellent job of controlling negetive feedback and emotions. She will be working on my will and power of attorney in the near future .

Melissa was wonderful to work with. She is a great listener and is responsive to your own decisions, but also knows when to give you a little kick when you need it. It was very obvious that she is a well respected member of the Twin Cities legal community when we had to work with opposing counsel a...nd mediators. Her Admin was also terrific! I would highly recommend her to any of my friends.