Title: North Carolina Board-Certified Family Law Specialist and Managing Attorney
Company: Averett Family Law
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
D. Melissa Averett, North Carolina Board-Certified Family Law Specialist and Managing Attorney at Averett Family Law, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Lawyers for dedication, achievements, and leadership in Family Law.
Ms. Averett is a distinguished attorney and board-certified family law specialist who has been leading her practice, Averett Family Law, since 1998. Serving the Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Sanford, and Hillsborough areas of North Carolina, she excels in family law cases involving custody, child support, equal distribution, divorce, spousal support and more. Ms. Averett also maintains a particular focus on representing victims of domestic violence against their perpetrators.
Several years ago, Ms. Averett expanded her practice to include international family law, overseeing complex cases involving property in multiple countries that must be divided during a divorce. Furthermore, she has become engaged in surrogacy matters, managing the adoption of surrogate children and ensuring the legal aspects of surrogacy are appropriately handled.
During her years at her established law firm, Ms. Averett also founded Domestic Violence Civil (DVC) Legal Services Inc., a nonprofit organization from 2000 to 2008 managed through a grant from the Violence Against Women Act and a second grant under the act from North Carolina Legal Services. The VAWA established a fund to pay family law attorneys such as Ms. Averett to represent domestic violence victims regarding custody, alimony and equal distribution of assets. However, during the economic crisis of 2008, funds for DVC were lacking, causing her to close the nonprofit.
In addition to her work in the field, Ms. Averett has become a sought-after speaker who has been active in many speaking engagements and before various legal groups on family law issues statewide and internationally. She has also been called upon as an expert on the witness stand. Moreover, Ms. Averett was featured in “The Law of Transformation,” Chapel Hill: Leaders in Law.
In preparation for her future, Ms. Averett received a Bachelor of Arts in dramatic arts with a minor in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1986 and a Doctor of Jurisprudence, magna cum laude, from North Carolina Central University in 1998. She was admitted to practice by the North Carolina Bar Association and is a certified North Carolina family law specialist.
Active in her professional community, Ms. Averett is affiliated as a member of the Orange County Bar Association, the Chatham County Bar Association, the family law section of the North Carolina Bar Association and the District 15A Local Bar. She also served as chair of domestic violence for the family law section of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Civically involved, Ms. Averett has chaired the Holistic Performance Initiative, served on the Family Visitation Center advisory committee, and was a 911 Dispatcher for the City of Durham Emergency Services in Durham, North Carolina.
Among many career accomplishments, Ms. Averett is recognized for authoring three domestic laws adopted in North Carolina. In light of her success, she has been named to North Carolina Super Lawyers every year since 2018. She credits her success to her passion for the law, her clients, her ability to implement social change and her tenacious advocacy for domestic violence as a victim herself.
Eager for future opportunities to make a difference, Ms. Averett hopes to engage more in public speaking. In September 2024, she spoke at a conference for Australian attorneys for the third time after first meeting this group at the World Congress on Children’s Rights and Family Law. She has also spoken on trauma-informed legal representation at the University of North Carolina and is scheduled to speak in Vietnam about court claims and family law soon.
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