Melissa Thomas, granddaughter of one of the firm's original partners, joined Thomas, Mamer & Haughey, LLP in 1999. Previously, Ms. Thomas was an attorney with a Naperville, Illinois law firm, and conducted her own practice in Plainfield, Illinois.

She received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she was selected to scholastic honoraries Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. She received a juris doctor degree from the University of Illinois College of Law and was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1994. She is a sixth-generation attorney and the third generation of her family to graduate from the University of Illinois College of Law.

In her practice, she specializes in trusts for estate planning and special needs, prepares special planning for the developmentally disabled and elderly, including Medicaid planning, probate, wills, real estate and business law, including contract preparation and negotiation, buying and selling of businesses and trademark law. In 2009, she was selected by her peers as a Leading Lawyer in trust, will and estate planning law.

Ms. Thomas is a member of the American Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association and Champaign County Bar Association. She was a member of the Corporation, Securities and Business Law Section Council for the Illinois State Bar Association in 2003.

In addition to her legal activities, she was chairman of the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors in 2008-2009. She has served in animal rescue for many years and as a volunteer for Humane Societies in Illinois and Georgia. She is a past president of the Champaign County Humane Society.

mat@tmh-law.com