Jessica VanValkenburgh was born and raised in a small town in upstate New York. She graduated cum laude from Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in History. Jessica then moved to Orlando, Florida where she graduated magna cum laude from Barry University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate in Law. During her time at Barry, Jessica was an extern for the Honorable Walter Komanski in the 9th Judicial Circuit, Orange County, Florida. She researched and wrote for the judge on a variety of family law issues, including child relocation law, custody, visitation and alimony, among other areas. Jessica also worked as a research assistant for Professor Patrick Tolan of Barry University School of Law in the areas of environmental law and government contracts. She actively assisted Professor Tolan with several law review and scholarly articles over the course of her law school career. While at Barry, Jessica was also an active member of the Barry University Law Review. She worked as a Note and Comment Editor her third year in law school, which required extensive editing and research of several articles written by other law review students. Jessica was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008. She then immediately joined The Ticktin Law Group and worked in the Stuart office until January 2016. While at The Ticktin Law Group Jessica practiced in the areas of civil litigation, mortgage foreclosure defense and family law. Jessica joined McCarthy, Summers, Bobko, Wood, Norman, Bass & Melby, P.A. in January 2016 as an associate attorney for Robert P. Summers, Esquire, practicing in the areas of real estate law, civil litigation and family law. Jessica has recently taken over the family law department at McCarthy Summers where she has the pleasure of representing clients in all facets of family law.
Jessica is an active runner who competes in race distances from 5K through ultra-marathons. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Treasure Coast Running Club and the Martin County Chapter of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers. Jessica enjoys being active and loves animals, especially her two rescue dogs.
