Melissa’s practice focuses on domestic litigation. She focuses her practice on helping individuals and families navigate complex family-law matters with compassion, professionalism, and sound legal guidance. She understands that family-related legal issues can be among the most challenging experiences a person faces and works closely with her clients to provide thoughtful representation tailored to their individual circumstances and goals. Melissa’s practice includes handling matters involving divorce and legal separation, child custody and parenting time, child support, spousal support, property division, and other domestic relations issues.
Before joining Geigle | Morales, LLC, Melissa served as a Chief Deputy District Attorney for the Denver District Attorney’s Office where she led the Juvenile Unit, one of the office's specialty prosecution units. With more than 15 years of experience as a prosecutor, she has built a distinguished career handling some of Colorado's most complex and high-profile criminal cases, including homicide, organized crime, child abuse resulting in death, sexual assault, and domestic violence. As Chief Deputy, she supervised multidisciplinary prosecution teams, mentored developing attorneys, and collaborated with law enforcement, courts, schools, and community partners to improve outcomes for youth and victims alike. Melissa is an expert in the Colorado Criminal Code, and the Children’s Code, otherwise known as Title 19.
Throughout her career, Melissa has tried more than 100 cases involving offenses such as murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, aggravated robbery, vehicular homicide, and child abuse. She is entrusted with prosecuting juveniles charged as adults in homicide and organized crime cases and serves as an On-Call Homicide Chief, advising detectives during death investigations on search warrants, interrogations, evidence collection, and charging decisions. She previously served in the Denver District Attorney's Family Violence Unit, where she prosecuted complex child abuse cases, including People v. Pankey, a nationally recognized prosecution involving the murder of a seven-year-old child.
A recognized leader and educator, Melissa is committed to advancing both the legal profession and the juvenile justice system through early intervention and support for families and youth. She directed one of only two Juvenile Handgun Intervention Programs in the United States, developing curriculum and programming designed to reduce youth gun violence and recidivism through evidence-based solutions. She also co-created the Denver District Attorney's E-Library, now the office's most widely used litigation resource, providing attorneys with centralized access to legal research, trial materials, and practice guides.
During her career in public service, Melissa was a sought-after instructor who regularly trained prosecutors, law enforcement officers, educators, and community organizations on topics including youth gun violence, juvenile law, interrogation practices, death investigations, trial advocacy, and the Colorado's Children's Code. She has also worked with federal and state law enforcement task forces to identify and address emerging transnational organized crime trends affecting the Denver metropolitan area.
Beyond the courtroom, Melissa is deeply committed to public service and community engagement. She serves on the Executive Board of Directors for Citizens Appreciate Police, mentors young women through the National Charity League, and has volunteered with organizations including Courtrooms to Classrooms, the Boys & Girls Club, and Third Way Center. She also volunteers as a Mock Trial Judge for local high schools, helping inspire the next generation of legal professionals.
Melissa grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. and moved to Denver, Colorado to attend law school. She earned her Juris Doctor in 2007 from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she received the Scholastic Excellence Scholarship for Trial Advocacy. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys riding horses, skiing and trail running in the mountains with her German Shepherd, Maverick.
