Michelle A. Parfitt

Michelle A. Parfitt is a Senior Partner with the law firm of Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP. Over the past thirty-eight years of her professional career, Ms. Parfitt has sought to distinguish herself as a champion of individual rights as well as a leader before the bar in the area of mass torts specializing in pharmaceutical and product liability cases. She currently heads the Mass Tort practice section of Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP and has had the privilege of representing thousands of individuals in various state and federal courts across the country who have filed suit against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.

Within her practice concentration in the area of pharmaceutical and device litigation, Ms. Parfitt has earned a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable attorneys in the areas of medical science and expert testimony preparation. Ms. Parfitt has been appointed to and has served on numerous Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees in national mass tort and complex litigations and has held leadership positions in some of the largest mass torts in recent years. She currently serves as Co-Lead Counsel in the Talcum Powder MDL.

Ms. Parfitt is the past president of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. having previously served as an officer and member of the Board of Governors for that association since 1998. Additionally, Ms. Parfitt has been selected by her peers to be included in “Best Lawyers in America,” “Super Lawyers,” “Best Lawyers in Washington, DC,” Washingtonian’s “Top Lawyers” and The Trial Lawyer magazine’s “The RoundTable: America’s 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers.” In addition, she was awarded the Clarence Darrow Award in 2013, the 2015 Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from TLA-DC and is a member of the prestigious International Academy of Trial Lawyers, International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Trial Advocates.

Ms. Parfitt has also had the opportunity to serve in numerous leadership and committee positions for the American Association of Justice (AAJ), the District of Columbia Bar and the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBA). She has been an active lecturer and author on mass tort litigation, scientific and medical evidence in pharmaceutical and medical device cases for AAJ, State Bar Associations and numerous national legal education programs.

She has an AV Martindale-Hubbell rating and is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Ms. Parfitt is a member of the Supreme Court of the United States, District of Columbia Bar, Virginia State Bar and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association.

Within her practice concentration in the area of pharmaceutical and device litigation, Ms. Parfitt has earned a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable attorneys in the areas of medical science and expert testimony preparation. Ms. Parfitt has been appointed to and has served on numerous Plaintiffs’ Steering Committees in national mass tort and complex litigations and has held leadership positions in some of the largest mass torts in recent years. She currently serves as Co-Lead Counsel in the Talcum Powder MDL.

Education

• B.A., Northeastern University
• M.A., Michigan State University
• J.D., Hofstra University School of Law

Bar Admissions

• Virginia
• Washington, D.C.

Awards & Recognitions

• America’s Most Honored Lawyers – Top 1% 2022
• AV® Rating, Martindale-Hubbell®
• AV Preeminent Attorney, Martindale-Hubbell® for Twenty-Five Years
• AV Preeminent Attorney, Martindale-Hubbell® 2023
• AV Preeminent Attorney – Judicial Edition, Martindale-Hubbell® 2023
• AV Preeminent Attorney – Judicial Edition, Martindale-Hubbell® 2024
• AV Preeminent Attorney, Martindale-Hubbell® 2024
• Best Lawyers in America®
• Best Lawyers in Washington, D.C
• Best Lawyers in America® (2025 Edition) – Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs
• Best Lawyers in America® (2025 Edition) – Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs
• Super Lawyers®
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2020
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2023
• Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers, 2024
• Washingtonian Magazine‘s Top Lawyers of 2013 List
• Trial Lawyers of America, Washington D.C. Trial Lawyer of the Year 2015
• Sandra H. Robinson Women’s Caucus Award, 2019

Publications

“The Hidden Dangers of Power Morcellators,” Trial Magazine (July 2015)

Professional Associations

• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)
• American Association for Justice
• The Council for Court Excellence
  • Board Member
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• International Society of Barristers (ISOP)
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
  • Past President
  • Past Officer, Board of Governors
  • Past Member, Board of Governors
• Member, Women’s Trial Education Committee
• Virginia State Bar Association
• Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
• Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia
  • Co-chair, Litigation Forum
  • Co-chair, Immigration and Naturalization Committee
  • Co-chair, Executive and Judicial Endorsements Committee