Melissa Palmisciano’s practice focuses on employment litigation, general litigation and employment counseling. She is a seasoned advocate with significant experience litigating cases in federal courts and before administrative panels.
Prior to joining Baker Hostetler, Ms. Palmisciano served 12 years in the United States Marine Corps as a Judge Advocate and Aviation Intelligence Officer. As a Judge Advocate, she held several positions, including Senior Prosecutor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney. In these roles, Major Palmisciano investigated and prosecuted cases involving various allegations of wrongdoing, including first-chairing more than 100 prosecutions. She also had primary responsibility for the administration and supervision of all investigations and prosecutions. As the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, she handled a wide variety of matters pertaining to ethics compliance, administrative law, policy formulation, crisis management and media relations.
Before representing the government, Ms. Palmisciano served as the Senior Defense Counsel at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, wherein she advised and represented more than 175 clients facing federal criminal charges, administrative disciplinary actions and involuntary employment termination. She has tried multiple jury trials on both sides of the aisle and represented clients at every phase of trial, resulting in several awards and commendations for her service.
Ms. Palmisciano served as an Aviation Intelligence Officer at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar before beginning her legal career. Her duties included researching, analyzing and disseminating classified intelligence information to senior commanders.
During law school, Ms. Palmisciano was an Associate Editor of the Ohio State Law Journal and served as President of the Military Law Students Association. She was the recipient of the Michael E. Moritz Merit Scholarship and earned CALI Awards for Excellence in Contracts and Sales.
Ms. Palmisciano is a member of the Order of the Coif, American Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Association and Columbus Bar Association. She also serves on the Columbus Bar Military Assistance Task Force and as a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.