Attorney Profile

Melissa Roca Shaw is a member of the Federal Litigation Section. Prior to joining the County Attorney's Office, Melissa served as an Assistant Chief Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security in the Office of the Legal Principal Advisor, where she was cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. As a Special Assistant United States Attorney, Melissa tried and prosecuted federal cases from investigation through disposition, managing all aspects of motions practice, discovery, and courtroom advocacy.

Melissa began her legal career as an Assistant State Attorney at the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office where she received extensive litigation experience prosecuting violent and punishable-by-life felony cases and tried numerous cases to verdict. She then transitioned to the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Florida, where she litigated post-conviction death penalty cases in the Miami Capital Collateral division. She has presented oral arguments before the Third District Court of Appeal, as well as the Florida Supreme Court.