Melissa Martin, Attorney

I'm a 53 year-old woman who has lived in many cities: London, England; Pittsburgh, PA; Austin, TX; Oakland, CA. I returned to Houston, where I was born, in 1995 to care for my mother who was born and raised here, as was my father.

Why am I telling you this on a website about my law practice? Because I bring to my work a broad perspective on the world and the people struggling their way through it. I have played with, been to school with, and worked with people from all over the world and from many walks of life, and I have done all sorts of jobs at all sorts of levels. I believe the paths I've traveled through my life have led me to a great deal of empathy and a fierce desire to protect from oppression and overreaching anyone who needs it, be they citizens accused or citizens oppressed by corporate greed.

Until recently, I have focused only on criminal defense in Federal and State courts in Texas, handling criminal cases from pre-arrest through post-conviction actions. I am expanding my practice to include some consumer law and family law because my drive to protect and defend is easily adaptable to those fields. I am excited to begin that expansion with Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases, which bring actions against collection agencies that fail to comply with the federal statute that restricts the ways they may treat debtors. If collection agencies are abusive, the debtors have remedies, including money damages.

I am a graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Texas Law School, and Gerry Spence's Trial Lawyers College. I am licensed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division; the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; and all courts of the State of Texas. I am a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and I am a director of the Fort Bend County Criminal Lawyers Association and a former director and officer of the Harris County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, of which I am an active member. I am also a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.

My mission is to provide my clients with compassionate, nonjudgmental handling of their problems. I will aggressively and painstakingly fight for those who trust me and choose to hire me. If you do hire me, I will be handling your case, not a secretary, paralegal, or new associate, therefore I have to limit the number of my cases I take so that each client gets my highest quality work. Give me a call and we'll set up a time to meet-it will cost you nothing and you can decide whether my practice style suits you.