Melissa to serve as Reporter for new Uniform Act on Judicial Interviews of Children

Melissa has been appointed to serve as the Reporter for a new Drafting Committee in the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. The Drafting Committee is charged with drafting a uniform or model act addressing custody, visitation, parentage, and related proceedings (including Hague Abduction Convention cases) in which other law permits or requires the child's views to be heard. With the guidance of a Chair, Vice Chair, Advisors, and Observers, Melissa will be primarily responsible for researching and drafting the act for consideration by the committee, in accordance with the committee's policy decisions, including notes and comments.

The Uniform Law Commission was established in 1892 to provide "states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state statutory law." It's most notable work in the family law field include the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA).

Melissa Co-Chairs Conference in New York

On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, Melissa co-chaired a conference for the New York State Bar Association on advanced issues in the Hague Abduction Convention. Melissa routinely serves as expert and consultant on issues of international parental child abduction. Melissa co-chairs the NYSBA's International Family Law committee.

Melissa Participates in U.S. State Department Advisory Committee Meeting

On Friday, June 3, 2022, Melissa participated in the annual meeting of the U.S. State Department's Advisory Committee on Private International Law. Melissa has served as a member of the Advisory Committee since 2009. The Advisory Committee assists the U.S. State Department in monitoring domestic and international developments in private international law, and provides information that helps the United States develop positions on issues of private international law in its work within a variety of international organizations, including the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Private international law is a body of laws, conventions, legal guides and other legal instruments that regulate private relationships across national borders.

Melissa attends NYSBA Meeting in New York

Melissa attended the New York State Bar Association International Section meeting in New York on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. Melissa is a member of the Section's Executive Committee, and co-chair of its Family Law Committee.

Melissa becomes a Fellow of the AAML

On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, Melissa was granted fellowship in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The AAML has high admission standards, including at least 10 years of practice in family law, maintaining high educational standards on a yearly basis, serving in leadership positions in the legal profession, authoring publications and presenting educational programs to others in the family law bar, substantial trial experience in family law litigation, competence in settling family law cases, and passing a national examination. Melissa will join 12 members in the D.C. Chapter.

Melissa Co-Chairs International Family Law Conference

Melissa is the primary organizer and co-chair of a full day conference on advanced international family law issues on April 26, 2022. The conference is sponsored by the American Bar Association, and hosted by Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C. The topics include panels on foreign marital property regimes and prenuptial agreements, diplomatic immunity in family law cases, tax and financial planning for high net worth international clients, and employee benefits for international organization workers and their disposition at divorce. Melissa hand selected the topics, speakers, and has been integral in organizing the entire day's events for the ABA.

Melissa assumes role as Governor of IAFL

On Saturday, February 19, 2022, Melissa assumed her role as Governor At Large on the International Academy of Family Lawyers Board of Governors. She will serve a one-year term until 2023.

Melissa Re-Appointed to State Department Advisory Committee

On December 29, 2021, Melissa was re-appointed to the U.S. Department of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law. ACPIL is a federal advisory committee chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, chaired by the Legal Adviser of the State Department, and administered by the Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Private International Law.

Melissa Appointed to Uniform Law Commission Role

Melissa was appointed as the Reporter of a new Uniform Law Commission Study Committee that is exploring the feasibility of drafting a new law on child participation in custody proceedings. The Study Committee will begin its work in early 2022, with a goal of concluding in late 2022. At that time, it will make a recommendation on whether a new law could and should be drafted on this very important topic.

Melissa elected to Board of Governors of IAFL

On Friday, September 17, 2021, Melissa was elected to the Board of Governors of the International Academy of Family Lawyers. Her term begins at the conclusion of the organization's meeting in February 2022. The IAFL is an organization of skilled professionals that work to improve the administration of justice in family law throughout the world. IAFL membership is by invitation only and after a rigorous application process. Melissa was invited to be a fellow of the IAFL in March 2017, and has actively served on its Dispute Resolution committee since that time.

Melissa appointed co-chair of the ABA's International Family Law Committee

At the conclusion of the American Bar Association's Annual Meeting in August 2021, Melissa became co-chair of the ABA International Law Section's International Family Law Committee. This committee is highly regarded as one of the leading U.S. voices in international family law. Melissa previously co-chaired this committee from 2007 to 2009. During her prior tenure, she organized two successful international family law conferences for the ABA, as well as two international family mediation trainings. The committee also received several awards for its work in the section and the field of international family law. Melissa will be co-chairing the committee with Michael Coffee.

Melissa honored to co-chair NYSBA committee

Melissa has been appointed to co-chair the New York State Bar Association - International Section's Family Law Committee. The New York State Bar has been the voice of the legal profession in the State of New York for over 140 years. Its International Section is the face of New York lawyers globally, and has memoranda of understanding with numerous foreign bar associations.

Melissa Elected Fellow to the American Bar Foundation

MK Family Law, PLLC is pleased to announce that Melissa Kucinski has been elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF). Membership is limited to just one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by their peers and selected by the ABF Board.

The ABF Fellows is a global honorary society that recognizes attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and to the welfare of their communities. ABF Fellows hail from nearly 40 countries and hold a wide variety of influential roles.

Notable Fellows include Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, and Former United States Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton.

Melissa continues work on State Department Advisory Committee

Melissa attended the annual meeting of the U.S. Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Private International Law (ACPIL) on May 25, 2021. ACPIL was established in 1972 by the U.S. Department of State, and assists "the State Department [to] monitor domestic and international developments in private international law, and provides information to the Department for use in the development of United States positions for international efforts to negotiate uniform rules of private law by treaty, model national laws, and other means." Melissa was first appointed a member in September 2009 and has served continuously since that date, providing information on the role of international family law developments to the United States. ACPIL is organized and administered through the Office of the Legal Adviser for Private International Law (L/PIL).

Melissa chairs ODR Sub-Committee on Cross-Jurisdictional Issues

In December 2020, Melissa Kucinski was appointed to an Executive Committee organized by Mediate.com to explore and make recommendations on best practices in training family mediators in online dispute resolution. As part of her work on the Executive Committee, Melissa will be chairing a Sub-Committee that focuses on exploring the complex cross-jurisdictional issues that are inherent with ODR matters, where mediators can more commonly handle matters that are beyond the borders where they typically practice. A large portion of Melissa's mediation practice focuses on working with cross-border families, including mediation of Hague Abduction cases, which often include litigation in multiple courts in multiple countries.

Melissa continues work with the Uniform Law Commission

Melissa is honored to continue her work with the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. She has long served on its Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Family Law. This board monitors existing uniform and model family laws (such as the UCCJEA, UIFSA, UCAPA, etc.) and proposes new work to the Commission. Last year, Melissa also served as the ABA Advisor for the Study Committee on Emergency Family Court Procedures.