Melissa Fiksdal

Life is full of changes, many a musician has sung that there is a season for everything. Biblical text also posits there being a time and place for all things: birth and death, times for sorrow and times of laughter, times to weep and times to dance. My name is Melissa Fiksdal and my passion in my law practice is to assist people in working through some of the most difficult times that we encounter in life. My education and life experiences have prepared me to be a strong advocate and honest counselor of criminal and family law matters. I was not a traditional student and did not commit to my college career until I was in my thirties. By then I had my two biological daughters and would soon welcome the additional blessing of my bonus daughter. While raising my daughters, I graduated summa cum laude from National American University, with a major in Paralegal Studies. From there, I attended law school at the University of South Dakota and graduated in 2010. After graduating from law school, I went on to proudly serve as a staff attorney at the Minnehaha County Public Defender's Office. In June of 2013, I joined Jeff Larson Law P.C., which has since become Resolute Law Firm, P.C. I am currently a partner and shareholder at Resolute Law Firm, P.C. I could not ask to be part of a better team of individuals, and I am very proud of the work that we do to assist our clients. In 2026, my husband Bruce and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage, and we have been blessed with three grandchildren. I can tell you my passion for working in these areas of the law, came from difficult seasons in my own life. Seasons of divorce, seasons of sorrow and redirection. Learning to persevere through difficult times and to start anew again. Missteps and failures in life are the defining moments where we must choose to rise and become better, to seek to achieve things that we never thought possible. A criminal allegation can be serious and terrifying, a divorce can seem like a failure, and a custody battle can be emotionally exhausting for parents and children alike. In the middle of all this darkness it may be hard to find solutions that lead to better stations in life, but it is possible. My mentor instilled many values that I hold close, one being, a person is not defined by the worst thing that they have ever done. We are here to help. If you are in need of assistance in the areas of family law or criminal law, I would love to assist you. I pride myself on an honest assessment of your legal issue and will work hard to receive the best possible outcome.

• Attorney and Partner

• Minnehaha County Public Defender’s Office, Staff Attorney, 2010 - 2013

• East River Legal Services, Board of Directors, 2011 - 2023

• South Dakota, 2010
• U.S. District Court District of South Dakota
• U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit

• South Dakota Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2013 - Present
• South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association, 2013 - Present
• National Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, 2010 - Present