Paul H. Melnick

Principal

 

pmelnick@pesner.com

(703) 506-9440   ext 233

Fax (703) 506-0929

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"Each of my clients has unique needs. My work reflects the care I take to meet those needs."

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Emphasizes Real Estate, Estate Planning, Trust & Estate Administration and Related Litigation, Assisting Persons with Disabilities, and Business Services.

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Practices

 

Paul H. Melnick began his practice of law in 1990 by joining his father’s (John L. Melnick’s) law practice in Arlington County, Virginia. He and his father later became law partners in 1996 forming Melnick & Melnick. After his father’s passing in 2013, Mr. Melnick carried on the law firm of Melnick & Melnick, PLC as its sole owner, and merged the law practice with the Firm in 2016. In his over 25 years of practicing law, Mr. Melnick has developed extensive experience and knowledge concerning all types of real estate transactions, estate planning, estate and trust administration, and assisting those with disabilities. Mr. Melnick combines his attention to detail with his personalized approach to fulfill his clients’ legal objectives. The areas in which Mr. Melnick practices complement each other in that real estate cases oftentimes involve issues touching on estate planning or estate and trust administration, and vice versa.

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Education

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• James Madison University (B.S. 1987)

• University of Dayton School of Law (J.D. Summa Cum Laude, 1990)

  • Law Review, Staff Member, 1988 - 89

  • Law Review, Production Editor 1989 - 90

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Bar Admissions

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• Virginia

• U.S. Supreme Court

• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

• U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

 

 

Activities

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• Virginia State Bar (admitted 1990)​

  • Member, Council of the Virginia State Bar 2023 - present

  • Real Estate Section: Area Representative 2005-07, 2016 - present, Board of Governors 2007 - 16, Secretary/Treasurer 2009 - 10, Vice-Chair 2010 - 11, Chair 2011 - 12

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• District Disciplinary Committee (4-I): Member 2013-19, Secretary 2015-16, Vice-Chair 2016 - 2017, Chair 2017 - 2018​​​

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• Arlington County Board of Zoning Appeals

  • Member 2014 - 2022, Vice-Chair 2016 - 2018

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• Arlington County Bar Association

  • Director 2005 - 06

  • Secretary 2006 - 07

  • Member 1990 - present

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• Fairfax County Bar Association Member

  • 2019 - present​

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• Member, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys 2019, 2022 - 23

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• Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department

  • Secretary 2000 - 02

  • President 2002 - 06

  • Vice-President 2006 - 09

  • Trustee 2007 - 10

  • Firefighter II/Emergency Medical Technician 2001 - 2013

  • Member 1999 - present

 

• Kiwanis Club of Arlington

  • Board of Directors 1994 - 95, 1996 - 97, 1998 - 2001, 2002 - 03, 2022 - present

  • Member 1990 - present

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• Arlington County Transportation Commission

  • Member 1995 - 98

  • American Red Cross, Arlington County Chapter

  • Board of Directors 1996 - 99​

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Awards & Recognitions

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• Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of AV – Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence 2022 - 2023

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• Northern Virginia Magazine Top Lawyers 2019 - 2022

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Publications

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• Real Estate Transactions in Virginia, Second-Fifth Editions, Co-Editor, Virginia CLE Publications, 2010 - present

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• Real Estate Transactions in Virginia, [Forms of Holding Title, and The Deed], Chapter Author, Second-Fifth Editions, Virginia CLE Publications, 2010 - present

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• The Fee Simple, The Newsletter of the Virginia State Bar Real Property Section, Paper or Plastic? What Lawyers Need to Know About Accepting Credit Cards, Volume XXXIV, Number 1, Spring 2013

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• The Fee Simple, The Newsletter of the Virginia State Bar Real Property Section, How to Render the FIRPTA Nonforeign Affidavit Harmless, Volume XXXI, Number 2, May 2011

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• Virginia Lawyer Register, Co-Author of No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Your Practice and Real Estate Transactions, Volume 68, Number 3, October 2019

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Seminars

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• What Trusts and Estates Practitioners With Other Professional Advisors Knew About the Ethics Rules Applicable to Lawyers, co-presenter, Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council, 2020
   

• Transfer on Death Deeds – Good Results in Life and Death, presenter

  • McLean Estate Planning Council, online meeting, 2020

  • Arlington County Bar Association Trust & Estates Section Meeting, Arlington, Virginia, 2019

  • The Grim Reaper: Death, Taxes & Real Estate, joint presentation, sponsored by
    the Real

  • Property Section, Tax Section, and Trusts and Estates Section, Virginia State Bar 2019
     

• The Widow Without a Will and Stories of Perilous Procrastination, presenter, sponsored by Home Care Assistance, Fairfax, Virginia and Premier RN Geriatric Care, 2019

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• Who Gets the Beach House? Legal Do’s and Don’ts for the End of Life, presenter, Annual Meeting of the Memorial Society of Northern Virginia, 2016

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• Striving for Good Deeds in Estate/Trust Planning and Administration, presenter, sponsored by the Trusts and Estates Section of the Arlington County Bar Association, 2015

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• What Does that Deed Really Say? Annual Real Estate Seminar, Virginia CLE, Virginia Law Foundation, 2011

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• Bridge the Gap Seminar, Real Estate Transactions, Virginia CLE, Virginia Law Foundation, 2009, 2010, and 2011

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• “Death and Dirt” Real Estate and Trust Attorneys Look At The Same Issues, panel member, sponsored by the Real Property Section and Trusts & Estates Section, Virginia State Bar, 2008

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• Virginia Real Estate Case Law Update, Annual Real Estate Seminar, Virginia CLE, Virginia Law Foundation, 2006, 2007, and 2008