Melissa’s education includes a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Southern Illinois University School of Law.  She was admitted to practice law in Illinois in 2006 and admitted to practice in Federal Court in 2006.

After being admitted to the bar, she practiced in various areas of civil litigation before being hired on as an attorney by the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office in 2008.   From 2008 to 2012, Melissa served as a Formal Hearing Officer and Hearing Representative at the Secretary of State’s Office in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

In 2012, she began her career as a prosecutor and State’s Attorney in Pope County, Illinois.  As the elected State’s Attorney, she prosecuted all areas of criminal law, including felony, misdemeanor, traffic, and juvenile law.  In 2019, private practice became a passion and she opened Melissa Presser, Attorney at Law, LLC.  She maintains a general law practice in the heart of Southern Illinois and travels throughout the State to focus on reinstatement hearings