Michele Garlit

Michele S. Garlit is an associate in the Silicon Valley office of Messner Reeves LLP, where her practice focuses on litigation.

Michele represents clients throughout the litigation process. Her experience includes preparing briefs and motions, drafting and responding to written discovery, conducting fact and expert depositions, managing document review and production, and preparing cases for trial. She has represented plaintiffs in civil litigation involving silicosis claims arising from exposure to respirable crystalline silica during the fabrication of artificial stone products.

Before entering private practice, Michele served as Legal Assistance Program Manager for Escuela Popular del Pueblo. She designed, implemented, and evaluated the organization’s legal assistance program; oversaw client intake, assessment, and referrals; maintained relationships with clients and community organizations; and developed outreach strategies to expand the program’s reach.

Michele earned her J.D.  from Suffolk University Law School, where she received an Academic Trustee Scholarship. During law school, she served as vice president of the Latin American Law Student Association and participated in the Student Bar Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. She also worked as a student practitioner in Suffolk University’s Transactional Law Clinic.

Michele earned her B.A., cum laude, in political science with a minor in history from Santa Clara University. She is admitted to practice in California and is a member of the Marin County Bar Association and San Fernando Valley Bar Association.

Born and raised in East San Jose, Michele is bilingual in English and Spanish and is a California Notary Public. She serves on the board of the Bay Area Glass Institute, an organization working to make glass art accessible throughout the Bay Area, and is a flameworking hobbyist.