Melissa Simms

Melissa Simms is an Associate Attorney with the Law Offices of W. Scott Smith. With 24 years’ experience as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, she has had the opportunity to handle all types of cases, from traffic tickets to child molestation, rape, and murder. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature from Georgia State University, a Juris Doctor from Mercer University, and an LL.M in International Law and Human Rights from London Metropolitan University.

Melissa has had the opportunity to practice law all around the world. She was an Assistant Attorney General in Saipan, in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (a commonwealth of the United States), where she prosecuted all types of cases and served as the Asylum Judge, making decisions on whether individuals would be granted asylum due to threats of harm in their own countries. Melissa later had the opportunity to practice law in Palau, a small island country in the Pacific, where she served as the Special Prosecutor, prosecuting crimes of corruption against government officials.

Melissa served as the Deputy Chief Public Defender in Clayton County during the pandemic, handling hundreds of preliminary hearings virtually, ensuring that the rights of her clients were not violated during such a stressful period. Melissa feels that her many years as a prosecutor helps her in defending her clients, as she is able to look at client’s cases from a prosecutor’s point of view and anticipate a prosecutor’s next step.

Melissa is a native of Atlanta, having grown up in Vinings, and genuinely loves our city and its people. She has chosen this area of law because she is passionate about ensuring that people have a voice in a judicial system that too often blocks out the voices of the accused. Melissa cares about her clients, not only about their case but also about their lives and wants to connect with them and believes in fostering relationships with her clients that go above and beyond the details of their pending case. In her free time, Melissa enjoys spending time with her wife Bebe and her daughter Gemma, as well as her Saint Bernard Tallulah and her Golden Retriever Lily.