Melissa Needle of Westport is already one of Connecticut's leading young matrimonial lawyers, whose career began among the top tier of the state's divorce bar and has remained there ever since. Still in her 40s, Melissa is a respected litigator and handler of complex cases, a specialty she has developed over her many years of matrimonial practice. She recently launched her own practice in Westport, CT. She has accumulated substantial experience at leading Fairfield County Matrimonial law firms - but that's just the beginning. For over 20 years Melissa has successfully balanced work-home life as well as any lawyer of her generation. Early in her career, the Fairfield County native walked away from a local practice, suspending work in order to focus on her young children, and allowing her husband to pursue International Business opportunities. But - whether she liked it or not - the law lured her back, in part because of an inescapable pedigree: She's the daughter and granddaughter of attorneys (her father is the well-known transactional lawyer Charles Needle of Zeldes Needle & Cooper of Bridgeport). Finally, a childhood experience reinforced virtues of fight and fairness that she carries to this day: Back in the mid-70s, 9-year-old Melissa was plaintiff in one of the test cases in a discrimination suit against the National Little League Association, among other defendants, challenging longstanding rules prohibiting girls from playing in their Association. The case made national headlines. The red-haired first baseman "just wanted to play," she says. "I was the ultimate Tomboy." (Rather than fight in court and all the bad press, the NLLA rescinded the rule, but "my Dad had to coach because no one would take me on their team. We got a lot of anonymous hate mail. It was a real education for a kid.") "That was a defining experience for me. I suppose it was inevitable that I'd end up with an 'Esq.' attached to my name." Melissa went on to captain her Andrew Warde High School volleyball and softball teams; she later majored in English at Tufts University. She headed straight to law school - a world away, in Southern California, where her brother was attending UCLA business school. Returning home, she took the advice of her father, who recognized that her temperament - of tenacity, broad thinking and poise - was suited to family law. She joined the New Haven practice of veteran divorce attorney Gary Cohen; within three years, she had launched her own practice. The Greenwich firm of Sam Schoonmaker and Cynthia George eventually lured Melissa to their firm. By her mid-30s, she was a fast-rising divorce litigator. But Melissa's husband, entertainment industry executive Chris Lynch felt the constant pull of Hollywood and his international business interests. Melissa left behind her thriving practice for the West Coast; for three years she focused on her children and family. "We were about to buy a house in Calabasas, California, and we looked at each other and said, 'Are we sure we want to do this?' Fairfield County was home for both of us, so we decided to return home." She joined a well-known Fairfield County firm, and in 2010 launched her own practice. With her three children now ages 16 to 10, "things are a little easier" but her substantial caseload reflects the demand she continues to have today, even as she builds an independent practice. Still, "some days you can manage and some days are tough," she says. Melissa's peers say she is an enviable example of one who prevailed over the work-vs.-home dragon, which so many professionals face today. Melissa herself acknowledges the journey calls for grit: "I'm a competitor, I fight hard to get the best deal for my client and that competitive nature helps in making me effective in what I do today. I've never been afraid of anyone or anything."