Spotlight on Melissa Bradnick

Growing up as an only child, Melissa was born on Long Island, New York. Her mother was a paralegal when Melissa was younger, and that’s part of what she attributes to her interest in the law. She spent a lot of time hanging around law firms at a young age and got used to the company of lawyers.

Later, her parents operated a construction business, which led her to envision a future where she might start or run her own business entity. Though she has no human siblings, her family has always had dogs. Melissa estimates that she has had about 13 dogs throughout her life.

She’s passionate about spending time with family and sees her folks whenever she can. When she does, she says they visit the beach a lot.

She attended the State University of New York at Oswego for her undergrad, earning a BA in business administration with a minor in public justice. After moving away from New York, she attended the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Melissa interned at the Suffolk County DA’s office after her first year of law school. She became a certified legal intern at the NCCU Veteran’s Law Clinic and NCCU Family Law Clinic. When asked about what led her down the path to the legal profession, she describes an early ambition of being a police officer. However, the time spent with her mom around attorneys when she was younger helped convince her to become a lawyer rather than a law enforcement officer.

At some point, Melissa says she would love to have her own law firm. She enjoys helping people and feels that things clicked for her when she began learning about the practical applications of the legal profession. She credits her internships with further convincing her that she chose the right industry. She even interned at Cape Fear Family Law the summer of 2025! In addition to one day having her own firm, Melissa would eventually like to become a board-certified family law specialist.

She Makes the Most of Her Downtime

Melissa and her fiancé are thrilled to be getting married May 2026. Her fiancé is a former Marine, and having him in her life sparked Melissa’s interest in helping veterans get their due benefits.

Though she doesn’t have any pets right now, Melissa says she likes absconding with one of her parents’ three beagles sometimes. She’s a big fitness buff and enjoys working out and staying in shape with her fiancé. They’ve recently gotten into pickleball, and they’re both avid scuba divers as well. They each hold an advanced open-water certification that allows them to dive to depths of 100 feet on their own.

Some words to describe her are caring and fun. She says she’s driven when she has a goal and always does her best to achieve it.
She has studied abroad in Sydney, Australia, and Florence, Italy. She has traveled extensively around Europe and also spent time in the Caribbean. She has been to a total of about 30 countries. Impressive!

On her days off, you’ll likely find her playing pickleball with her fiancé. She says she’s also trying to get her mom into it. Other times, there’s a five-mile trail she likes to tackle, or she might spend some time at the nearest beach.
Melissa is excited for the opportunities that working at Cape Fear Family Law offers her.