Michelle shaffie

Michelle Shaffie is Co-Chair of the Career Advancement and Retention Committee for the 2025 WLS Board. Michelle currently serves as Deputy County Counsel for Sacramento County, where she practices child welfare and dependency law. She previously served as a Public Defender with the Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office, where she litigated felony and misdemeanor trials and represented youth in juvenile justice matters. In that role, she helped establish the Juvenile Trauma Response Court, a collaborative court designed to address the unique needs of system-involved and crossover youth who have experienced significant trauma, with the goal of reducing recidivism through coordinated, trauma-informed interventions.

Michelle earned her J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and holds dual B.A. degrees in International Relations and Spanish from the University of California, Davis. Outside of her legal practice, she enjoys music, gardening, reading, and exploring the outdoors.