Q&A with Melissa Demorest LeDuc
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Q&A
Q&A with Melissa Demorest LeDuc
Melissa Demorest LeDuc focuses her practice on business formation, mergers and acquisitions, and other business transactions. An attorney with the Demorest Law Firm in Detroit, she serves as outside general counsel for many small businesses, providing guidance in employment, real estate, contract, and other business matters. She also has particular experience with woman-owned businesses, and also leads the firm’s appellate practice.
A University of Michigan alumna, LeDuc earned her juris doctor degree from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit.
Q: Before becoming an attorney, what was your first job?
A: In high school, I worked in the youth room at our local library, shelving books and cleaning up kids’ messes.
Q: What motivated you to pursue a legal career?
A: My dad (and now colleague) is a lawyer and I spent many hours in his office when I was growing up. As a kid, I was most interested in the office supply closet and the vending machine, but as I got older, I got more interested in the substance.
Q: Who was your chief mentor and how did he or she influence your career?
A: My dad has been my mentor for a long time. He has given me the opportunity to try different practice areas and settle into what I enjoy best, which is transactional and general counsel work.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
A: Don’t be afraid to tell a client that you need to do some research or think through something when they ask a question that you don’t necessarily know how to answer. It’s better than giving an off-the-cuff answer that turns out to be wrong.
Melissa Demorest LeDuc and her husband, Jeff, enjoyed the magnificence of Big Sur during a 2014 road trip down the California coast.
Q: What is one thing you would like to learn to do?
A: How to make more hours in the day!
Q: What is your proudest career achievement?
A: Building my own practice, and having clients come back to me time and again for whatever comes up for their business.
Q: What other career path might you have chosen?
A: During high school and college, I worked in libraries and in retail. I never really imagined those as career paths – I just used them as stepping stones before going to law school.
Q: What is your most treasured material possession?
A: Right now it’s a tie between two kitchen appliances – my Jura coffee maker, which makes a perfect latte every morning, and my Vitamix Foodcycler, which quickly breaks down food scraps into compost.
Q: What is your happiest childhood memory?
A: Traveling with my family (parents and four siblings). We went on camping trips; road trips to South Dakota; trips to Disney World; and lots of trips to visit family in other states. My parents set up a TV and VCR in our Suburban so we could watch movies on long road trips – way before video players were built into cars. The movies we watched are still family classics.
Melissa Demorest LeDuc
Q: What is your favorite movie and book?
A: I have a hard time choosing a favorite of anything! Right now, I’m re-reading the “Outlander” series, which takes months to get through. As for movies, I like comedies the best. Some favorites are “Ghostbusters,” “The American President,” “Bridesmaids,” and “Parenthood.”
Q: What is the most awe-inspiring place you have visited?
A: Probably Big Sur in California. After the 2014 Global Conference in Monterey, my husband and I drove down the Pacific Coast Highway most of the way to Los Angeles and it was spectacular.
Q: What are your favorite leisure time pursuits?
A: With a 6-year-old and a 4-year-old, I don’t get much leisure time, but I enjoy traveling, playing tennis, cooking, gardening, spending time with friends and family, and playing Wordle every day.
Q: What is your favorite famous or inspirational quote?
A: “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Gardening is a favorite pastime for Melissa Demorest LeDuc.
Q: Who is on your guest list for the ideal dinner party?
A: Family and friends who I don’t see enough!
Q: Name the top three items on your bucket list?
A: It’s all travel-related – I would love to travel to Italy, to go back to Hawaii (and explore more islands than just Oahu), and maybe someday go on a cruise around the world.