Practice highlights
Biography
Melanie is a partner and a family law litigator at Thomson Rogers LLP. She has practiced exclusively in the field of family law since 2012 after articling at Thomson Rogers. Melanie’s expertise spans all areas of family law, with a particular emphasis on complex financial and legal issues and high-conflict parenting disputes, including cases of alienation and intimate partner violence. She is well-versed in the intersection of family law with other areas of law such as torts, criminal law, trusts, estates, tax, contract, and business law.
As a strategic and detail-oriented professional, Melanie guides her clients through their unique challenges with expertise, compassion, and resilience. Known for her ability to thrive under pressure, she fearlessly tackles acrimonious cases. Melanie is adept at both litigation and reaching amicable resolutions through negotiation and mediation, always advocating pragmatically for her clients’ interests.
Recognized in her field, Melanie has been named among the Best Lawyers in Canada for Family Law and is listed on ReferToHer for family law. The Family Law Group at Thomson Rogers has earned recognition from The Globe and Mail’s ‘Canada’s Best Law Firms 2025’ and is ranked by Best Lawyers in Canada for 2025 for both Toronto and nationwide.
Melanie was called to the Ontario Bar in 2011 after obtaining her Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2010. She holds a Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours Degree from McMaster University, where she was awarded the Provost Honour Roll Medal twice for her academic excellence.
A thought leader in family law, Melanie’s writings have been featured in Law Times, Lexpert and Money and Family Law. She has co-authored a chapter in “Support Rights and Obligations Under Ontario Family Law” and contributed papers for the Advocates’ Society, OsgoodePD, the Law Society of Ontario, and the Ontario Bar Association. She also authors the blog “Coffee with Melanie: Recent Court of Appeal Family Law Cases,” sharing her insights and analysis on notable cases.
Outside of the law, Melanie is the mother of two boys (soon to be three boys), and she is a “cat mom” to two ragdolls.
Year of Call
2011 Education
- BHSc. Honours, McMaster University (2007)
- Juris Doctor, Osgoode Hall Law School (2010)
Accreditations
- Canadian Bar Association
- Ontario Bar Association – Family Law Section
- The Advocates’ Society
- Women Lawyer’s Association of Ontario
