Melissa E. Graves

02/29/2020
Melissa E. Graves
Attorney

Melissa E. Graves

Attorney

Melissa E. Graves

Summary

Melissa Graves is a partner at Collins Einhorn Farrell PC and has devoted her entire career of almost two decades to civil defense litigation.  Her practice focuses on the defense of professional liability, general liability, and automobile/trucking claims.  Over the years, Melissa has successfully defended a wide range of professionals, including attorneys, judges, accountants, real estate agents, insurance agents, architects, and health care professionals.  Melissa’s automobile defense practice includes high-exposure third-party bodily injury claims arising out of auto and trucking accidents.  She is also regularly consulted by clients regarding auto-defense related issues and assists in providing a rapid response to Michigan trucking accidents.  Melissa’s experience includes representing clients from the pre-suit phase through trial as well as during facilitation/mediation, and she has trial experience in circuit court, probate court, and before the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.


Credentials

Education
  • Wayne State University Law School (J.D. cum laude, 2002)
  • Wayne State University (B.S. magna cum laude, 1999)
Admissions
  • State Bar of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan
Professional Activities
  • State Bar of Michigan – Representative Assembly Member
  • Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Oakland County Bar Foundation (Fellow)
  • Oakland County Bar Association
  • Oakland | Women’s Bar Association
    • Past President (2013-2014)
Accomplishments
  • Best Lawyers of America®
    • Professional Malpractice Law – Defendants (2018-2023)
  • Super Lawyers™
    • Professional Liability – Defendants (2013-2022)
    • Top 25 Women Business Michigan (2016-2018)
    • Top 50 Women Michigan (2016-2019)
    • Top 50 Michigan Business (2017)
    • Top 100 Michigan (2017)
    • Rising Star (2010, 2012)
  • DBusiness® Top Lawyer
    • Legal Malpractice Law (2012, 2016-2018)
    • Professional Malpractice Law (2020, 2022, 2023)
  • Women Leaders in the Law, Michigan Lawyers Weekly (2016)
  • Recipient of the Boaz Siegel Award for Outstanding Performance in the Fields of Pension, Health and Welfare, Employment or Labor Law
  • Served as Member of the National Moot Court Team
Prominent Outcomes

Obtained a no-cause verdict for an attorney client after a 20-day bench trial in a probate court case involving a $4.2 million estate, and then followed up on the trial victory by obtaining an $800,000 case evaluation sanction award.

Won summary disposition of accounting malpractice claim due to plaintiff’s failure to establish that the accountant’s actions caused her claimed damages, with the dismissal being affirmed on appeal due to an additional ground of plaintiff’s lack of an expert witness. Copeland v. Accountant (2021 WL 137256)

Won summary disposition of premises liability claim against a restaurant due to plaintiff’s failure to establish that the restaurant did anything to cause a speaker to fall on her at a private party, with the court rejecting plaintiff’s attempt to add a claim of res ipsa loquitur. Salmo v. Restaurant (2020 WL 862619)

Won summary disposition of legal malpractice claim based on argument that plaintiff couldn’t prove his case-within-a-case because it was his own dire financial condition rather than the underlying attorney’s alleged negligence in failing to advise him of a potential easement conflict which caused him to lose his property. Miller v. Attorney (2016 WL 8094520)

Won summary disposition in a contentious multi-million dollar legal malpractice claim in which the opposing parties tried to inject entirely new theories into the case after extensive discovery, including over 30 days of deposition testimony from key witnesses. Osprey SA LTD v. Lawyer (2015 WL 8540970)

Publications & Speaking Engagements

Presenter, “CAUTION – Avoiding and Navigating Legal Malpractice Claims and Grievances”, Oakland County Bar Association

Social Media and Word-of-Mouse Discovery Tips 4 Litig8tors, DRI Riding the E&O Line, Vol. 3 Issue 1 (March 15, 2011)

In Supervising Other Health Care Providers, The Duties and Liabilities are Many, Michigan Medical Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Fall 2011)

Voodoo Economics? Loss of Parental Training and Guidance: The New Battleground in Medical Malpractice Damages, Michigan Defense Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 1 (July 2010)

Presented to a prominent certified public accounting firm in a seminar entitled “Emerging Ethics & Cyber Risks” (May 2018)

Melissa regularly lectures on professional matters as a part of CPE accreditation, covering topics such as risk management and ethics techniques to avoid ethical lapses, privacy and data security issues, and client confidentiality ethics.

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Who Owns the Client File?

By Melissa E. Graves and Benjamin D. Wu   A request for the file—whether from your client, your client’s agent, or your client’s new lawyer—will probably put you on high alert. Sure, the request could be harmless curiosity. But the request could also be a red flag—a tip-off that a malpractice suit is on the…

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Collins Einhorn Attorneys Prevail in Accounting-Malpractice Suit

There’s no shortage of decisions addressing the requirement of expert testimony in legal and medical-malpractice cases. But decisions addressing the requirement of expert testimony in accounting-malpractice cases are few and far between, as we noted in a couple previous posts (which can be accessed here and here). CEF attorneys hope to change that and recently…

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Collins Einhorn Attorneys Successfully Defend Premises-Liability Case for Detroit Restaurant.

Collins Einhorn attorneys recently prevailed on behalf of client, a Detroit restaurant, who was the defendant in a premises liability case. Plaintiff was attending a private party at the restaurant when a speaker fell and struck plaintiff. In the trial court, attorneys Melissa E. Graves and Jeffrey R. Hicks argued that plaintiff’s premises-liability claim failed since there was no…

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back—Supreme Court Issues Remand Order in Case Addressing Standards for Accountant-Malpractice Claims

Late last year, the Court of Appeals issued a published decision in Broz v Plante & Moran, PLLC, which provided some much-needed clarity regarding the applicable standards for accountant-malpractice claims. (See our post about Broz here.)  But that clarity was short-lived, as the Supreme Court recently issued an order vacating part of the decision. At…

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Attorney Melissa E. Graves Recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as a Class of 2016 “Women in the Law”

We are pleased to announce that our colleague Melissa E. Graves has been named a 2016 Michigan Lawyers Weekly’s “Women in the Law.” The selection criteria included commitment to excellence in the practice of law, inspiring and accomplished leadership in the profession, mentoring and significant contributions of time and effort to volunteer and pro bono activities. Graves is one of 30 distinguished lawyers who were chosen to receive this prestigious award.

Attorneys Melissa Graves and Kevin Moloughney Assume Leadership Roles in Bar Associations

Two Collins Einhorn attorneys will be assuming leadership roles in major bar associations this week. Kevin Moloughney will be installed as the president of the Association of Defense Trial Counsel on Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Kevin practices in the areas of general and automobile liability, insurance coverage, construction defect liability, and premises liability. Melissa Graves…

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