Melissa is an Associate Attorney at Ardalan and Associates, specializing in the areas of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death cases. She is known for her fearless advocacy and deep empathy for every client she represents.
Before entering the legal field, Melissa graduated Summa Cum Laude from California State University, Northridge, and served as a 911 Dispatcher for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. This demanding role honed her ability to remain calm under pressure and ignited her calling to help people in crisis. Each emergency call became a lesson in compassion, urgency, and justice—values that would later define her as a plaintiff’s attorney.
While working long shifts as a dispatcher, Melissa pursued her dream of becoming a lawyer by attending night classes at the Ventura Colleges of Law. Despite her demanding full-time job, Melissa excelled academically, earning the highest marks in many of her courses. She graduated with High Honors—a testament to her drive, discipline, and passion for the law.
Driven by a passion for justice, Melissa dove right into personal injury law, where she has helped obtain incredible results and millions of dollars for those who had been injured and families who have lost loved ones. She worked tirelessly on multiple 7-figure cases involving injuries from defective products, auto collisions, dog attacks, and civil rights violations. Her strength in legal writing, motion practice, and oral advocacy continues to earn her a reputation as a persuasive and relentless litigator.
Melissa is licensed to practice in all California state courts as well as the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She is a proud member of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles (CAALA), the Ventura County Bar Association, and the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association. A graduate of the prestigious CAALA Plaintiff Trial Academy, Melissa continues to sharpen her trial skills and remains actively engaged in the legal community.