Melissa Jill Needle
Partner
Needle | Cuda
Contact Information
203-557-9500, melissa@needlecuda.com
Website
Biography
Attorney Melissa Needle is a lifetime resident of Connecticut. She was born in New Haven and raised in Fairfield. Her family has deep roots in Connecticut and she is a third-generation attorney. (Her father is the well-known transactional lawyer Charles Needle of Zeldes, Needle & Cooper of Bridgeport.) Since her admission to the bar in 1990, Ms. Needle has practiced matrimonial law exclusively. She has been an active family law litigator and many of the cases in which she has appeared involve issues including the division of high net worth estates, complex family businesses, highly contested custody, and requests for child relocation. Before launching her own practice and subsequently jointly forming Needle & Cuda, Melissa accumulated substantial experience at several leading Fairfield County family law firms. She is well-known in Connecticut courts as a fair fighter with high principles and integrity who does not shy away from litigation if that path is the best opportunity for her client to reach an equitable solution. Melissa understands that divorce is not just about the dissolution of marriage or stop-gap solutions but helping clients to plan for the rest of their lives. She resides in Wesport, CT with her husband and has three children.
Areas of Law and Practice
| Areas of Law | Areas of Practice |
|---|---|
| Family Law | Adoptions, Agency Adoptions, Alimony, Annulment, Assisted Reproductive Technology, Child Abduction, Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Advocacy, Child Care, Child Custody, Child Custody Mediation, Child Dependency, Child Protection, Child Sexual Abuse, Child Support, Child Welfare, Childrens Rights, Civil Unions, Cohabitation Agreements, Collaborative Family Law, Community Property Law, Day Care, Divorce, Divorce Arbitration, Divorce Mediation, Divorce Taxation, Domestic Partnerships, Domestic Relations, Domestic Torts, Domestic Violence, Equitable Distribution, Family Arbitration, Family Mediation, Fathers Rights, Foster Care, Gay and Lesbian Family Law, Grandparents Custody, Grandparents Visitation Rights, Independent Adoptions, International Adoptions, International Child Abduction, International Child Custody, International Family Law, Interstate Adoptions, Interstate Child Custody, Interstate Support, Juvenile Criminal Law, Juvenile Dependency, Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Law, Legal Separation, Marital Agreements, Marital Property Distribution, Marital Property Law, Marital Property Settlements, Matrimonial Bankruptcy Law, Matrimonial Law, Military Divorce, Name Changes, No Fault Divorce, Non-Traditional Family Law, Orphans Court Practice, Palimony, Parental Kidnapping, Parental Rights, Parenting Time, Paternity, Post Divorce Modification, Postnuptial Agreements, Premarital Agreements, Private Adoptions, Qualified Domestic Relations Orders, (QDROs), Restraining Orders, Same Sex Marriage, Spousal Support, Step Parent Adoptons, Surrogacy Law, Termination of Parental Rights, Third Party Custody, Uncontested Divorce, Visitation Rights |
Jurisdictions
- Connecticut, New York
Employment History
- No Information
Education
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B.A. | Tufts University
- 1987
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J.D. | Whittier College School of Law
- 1990
Attorney Rating and Feedback
Publications and Presentations
No Publications
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TYPICAL HOURLY RATE: --
TYPICAL FIXED FEE: --
TYPICAL CONTINGENCY FEE: -- -
Westport, Connecticut, Fairfield County
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