Melissa A. Dearing practices in the areas of employment and immigration law in the Jacksonville office and possesses over 9 years of experience.  Ms. Dearing practices in all aspects of labor and employment and immigration law, including the handling of discrimination and harassment litigation, wage and hour compliance and litigation, union avoidance, non-compete, non-solicitation and trade secret litigation, and general employee relations advice.  Ms. Dearing likewise assists employers in seeking non-immigrant and immigrant status, represents foreign nationals in regards to family immigration matters, and assists employers with I-9 and other immigration compliance issues.

Representative Experience

• Coffman Coleman Andrews & Grogan, Jacksonville, FL
  Shareholder, 1999-2007

Presentations

• "Employee Investigations In The Public Sector," Speaker, Florida Tax Collectors’ Fall 2009 Conference
• "Update On ADA Amendments," Speaker, Florida Public Personnel Association, 2009
• "Hot Topics In Immigration," Speaker, Fowler White Boggs Employment Seminar, 2009
• "Surviving The Enforcement Era:  Hot Topics In Immigration," Society for Human Resources Management, April 2009
• "Hot Topics In Immigration," October 30, 2007

Publications

• "Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow: Retaining Foreign National Employees," Co-Authored with Eugenia H. Donahoo, Jacksonville Lawyer Magazine, 2006