The practice:

Lighthouse Legal operates in multiple state and federal jurisdictions. Our litigation team operates under Lighthouse Litigation Group, LLP, while our transactional work is under Lighthouse Legal, LLC.

At Lighthouse Litigation Group, we work with legal aid as well as legal plans in multiple states to provide legal services to consumers who are sued in court, or who are facing abusive practices by corporate entities or creditors. We are passionate about protecting people from bad actors. While we can’t always make debts go away, we can respond to law suits and ensure that cases are responded to in ways that protect the rights of the individual involved. Sometimes we also institute proceedings on our clients’ behalf if we see federal regulations have been violated (harassment, violations of the FRCA or FDCPA, or the TCPA, etc). We also occasionally assist consumers with suits against debt settlement companies (and those behaving as such, despite what they may call themselves) who are not behaving ethically towards consumers. These organizations are also heavily regulated but frequently do not act appropriately – they may, for instance, promise performance, credit improvement, or that payments are for settling debts when they are actually just going into somebody’s pockets. The reality is that every law suit is distinct, and nobody can promise anybody any outcome.

The leadership:

Our managing attorney is Melissa Lynn-Purcell, who is an experienced private and corporate multijurisdictional litigation and compliance attorney. Her tenure includes more than 14 years with global Fortune 500 company JPMorgan Chase, after serving big-four giant KPMG; today she serves exclusively as general counsel and managing partner for national litigation firm, Lighthouse Legal, since 2011.

Ms. Purcell is a Harvard-trained data privacy and information security legal and compliance specialist with deep passion and understanding of privacy laws and issues, coupled with consumer protection laws at the state and federal levels. Her work in contracts is exhaustive, whether it be with consumer contract breaches or complex software agreements with data privacy addenda and exhibits. Her ability to navigate litigation is top tier, with a keen ability to weigh risk and probability and take a bigger picture approach in considering how and when to avoid costly litigation and when to address it with aggression, head on.

She holds multiple post-graduate degrees, including a current path at Harvard Business School in privacy law for lawyers; a doctorate degree in law from Ohio Northern University; an MBA from The Ohio State University where her undergraduate degrees are also held, and a Masters of Science in Information Technology from Purdue. She teaches law for state bar programs and for non-lawyers in areas related to contracts, credit protection and debtor/creditors’ rights, real estate, landlord/tenant rights, as well as some ADA-and-FHA-related laws for Service Animals, in both English and Spanish.

Ms, Purcell is a leader in technology and consumer protection compliance; she serves occasionally as an expert witness, interim general counsel, and compliance consultant and specialist for firms from medium to large sizes. She delights in sharing knowledge and learning from others who share similar passions and is known for being an outspoken advocate and mentor.

In addition to her private practice, Ms. Purcell is a volunteer cooperating attorney for the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), and she provides pro bono services for the Charleston Housing Court, South Carolina Legal Services, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus, the Ohio Legal Aid Foundation, and South East Ohio Legal Aid.

Melissa is also currently battling cancer (endometrial adenocarcinoma) and has been in and out of remission; she speaks publicly about life with and after cancer and its impact on mental health as well as its impact on practicing as a professional. Please feel free to reach out if you need a compassionate ear on this subject – she feels strongly that we are all connected and that nobody should have to fight it alone.  Melissa faces some disabilities as a result of her aggressive cancer treatments, and although she cannot have children, she has two large, goofy retrievers which serve both as her service dogs as well as her favorite “good boys.” While she has very little down time, you may find her some early mornings trying to surf off the coast of Folly Beach – a pastime that is a labor of love, which, she admits with a knowing smile, she will never master. She has faced professional obstacles and is experienced in ADA, FHA, and EEOC compliance and complaints as a result of her own medical circumstances and is always happy to lend a hand.

Ella habla español, y le gustaría ayudarle a Usted con cualquier problema de derechos que tenga.