Melissa Needle

Attorney Melissa Needle is a lifetime Connecticut resident. She was born in New Haven, raised in Fairfield, and now resides in Westport with her family. Attorney Needle is a third-generation attorney with deep family roots in Connecticut. Her father, Attorney Charles Needle, was a founder of the Connecticut firm Zeldes, Needle & Cooper in 1971. Since her admission to the Connecticut Bar in 1990, Melissa has exclusively practiced divorce and family law. Melissa started Needle | Cuda: Divorce and Family Law in 2010. The American Institute of Family Law Attorneys named Needle | Cuda a Connecticut Top 10 Best Firm in Client Satisfaction in 2019, 2020, and 2021. 

Westport divorce mediation attorney

WHAT IS DIVORCE MEDIATION?

Mediation is a non-adversarial, “interest-based” method of alternative dispute resolution used in many types of civil cases, including divorce. Private mediation requires the agreement of both parties to participate in the mediation process. The parties meet with a neutral third party, the mediator, who guides discussions on issues in dispute, such as alimony, child custody, child support and division of property