Marissa O’Connor

Marissa is a 20-year attorney licensed in Florida, California (inactive), U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Law is a second career for Marissa. Her first career was working as an Admission and Marketing Director in various nursing homes in Maryland after she earned her Bachelors in Health Sciences at Towson State University in Towson, Maryland. In 2000, Marissa decided to leave the Maryland nursing home industry, moved to California, and earned her legal degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California. Marissa was fortunate to start her legal career using her nursing home experience in Nursing Home Abuse Litigation. In her first 10 years of practicing law, Marissa worked in private firms small and large as well as her own firm. In these various private settings Marissa’s areas of practice expanded to cover areas, including but not limited to, Elder Abuse and Medical Malpractice Litigation, Probate and Estate Planning, and Social Security Disability. In 2016, Marissa moved to the non-profit sector with Community Legal Services (CLS) where she started as a Helpline attorney. Marissa later transferred to the Public Benefits unit as a Staff Attorney where she assisted clients with matters related to Veterans Benefits, Social Security Benefits, Medicaid, Medicare, and the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP). Marissa also worked closely with Veterans enrolled in Supportive Services for Veterans and Families (SSVF) to provide holistic services to Veterans and their families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Since 2020, Marissa was promoted twice within CLS to the position of Senior Managing Attorney, Public Benefits and Veterans Advocacy where she continues holding a Public Benefits and Veterans case load while supervising and training her staff of Veterans Attorneys and Paralegal Advocates in the Public Benefits and Veterans areas of law.