Irina Melnik

Senior Counsel

Irina Melnik is a natural born litigator.

Born in the former Soviet Union, she immigrated to the United States with her family in 1981. The exemplary sacrifices and hardwork of her parents, pushed both her and her brother to become lawyers.

While earning her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois-Chicago, Irina was selected by the renowned B.C. Koh as a teaching assistant, and was recognized for her academic achievements by Professor Kevin Lyles.

Irina received her Juris Doctorate degree from DePaul College of Law. While attending DePaul, she was accepted into the International Program with Widner University College of Law and studied European Union Law and International Business Transactions at Universita Ca Foscari in Venice, Italy.

In 2004, shortly after receiving her license to practice law, Irina opened her own practice where she gained an immense and varied amount of experience in family law, real estate, probate, estate planning, and other areas of civil litigation.

Irina’s track record of success is based in her tough-as-nails approach to litigation. She is pragmatic and approaches each from multiple angles to develop and execute the best strategy possible.

Irina takes each case personally, fights for the best interest of each client and child involved, and doesn’t pull punches – whether she’s persuading the judge, negotiating with opposing counsel, or giving some tough love to her own clients.

Irina resides in Libertyville, Illinois with her husband and two children.

Irina’s unrelenting advocacy on behalf of her clients has earned her the nicknames “Pitbull” and “Shark”, but we promise, she doesn’t bite (too hard).

Crista Harvey

Paralegal

Crista is a career paralegal that has been assisting attorneys since 2005. That same year, she graduated from Delta College University with a degree in Legal Support and Business Studies.

Intelligent, kind, and compassionate are Crista’s hallmarks. Her diligence, preparedness, and empathetic bedside manner is the perfect addition to the Irina-Crista Litigation Team.

Crista strives to be a useful source of information for her clients, helping them understand the legal process while encouraging them to see the bright side of a sometimes dark and overwhelming life experience. Crista reminds her clients that they can rely on the entire team at TLORBB to guide them through to the finish line.

With her professional training, passion, and dedication she aims to provide the best legal work and assistance possible. Crista has an impeccable attention to detail and is steadfast in her dedication to maintaining an error free work environment.

Judges and opposing counsel marvel at her clean, concise, well-drafted legal documents.

Crista is married and has one child. In her spare time, she enjoys bringing her daughter to extracurricular activities, quality family time, painting, gardening, singing, and dancing.