Biography
Melissa is litigation counsel in the Winnipeg office of Cochrane Saxberg LLP. Her practice includes civil, criminal and regulatory litigation, child protection, and corporate & business law.
Melissa received her call to the Manitoba bar in 2009. Prior to joining Cochrane Saxberg, she worked as a Crown Attorney with the Manitoba Prosecution Service for over 12 years, representing the Crown in serious and complex criminal cases at each level of court in the province.
Melissa is committed to legal education and is a sessional instructor for the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Law’s Intensive Criminal Law course and the Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System seminar. Throughout her career, Melissa has delivered a wide range of lectures and workshops for justice system participants including the Manitoba Prosecution Service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, Manitoba Corrections, Manitoba Justice Victim Services, and the Winnipeg Police Service. Melissa has instructed for the Senate of Canada Ethics Office, the CPLED bar admissions course and the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, training new Judges of the Akwesasne Court.
Melissa has been a member of the Winnipeg Mental Health Court Joint Operations Committee, the Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court Operations Committee, the Downtown Safety Network and the University of Manitoba, Robson Hall Truth and Reconciliation Action Team. She is the President of the Board of Directors for the Community Legal Education Association, and a past board member of the Canadian Friends of Hebrew University and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund. Melissa also assisted in the early development of the Legal Help Centre, to improve access to legal and social services for socially and economically disadvantaged members of the community.
Education
Juris Doctor, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law (2008)
Bachelor of Commerce (Honours with Distinction), University of Manitoba, I.H. Asper School of Business (2005)