Gov. Jay Inslee today appointed Annette Messitt to the King County Superior Court. She replaces Judge Jean Rietschel, who is retiring on January 4, 2019.
For the last five years, Messitt has operated a solo practice in West Seattle and then on Vashon Island, focusing on employment law and related matters, including litigation. She also serves as a Judge Pro Tempore in King County District Court and municipal courts in Auburn and Covington.
Before opening her practice, Messitt spent four years as an associate attorney at Breskin, Johnson, & Townsend. She represented employees in issues such as discrimination, wrongful termination, wage and hour disputes, and class actions. She also worked for nearly four years at the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office as a deputy prosecutor.
"Annette has a broad range of legal experience, having spent portions of her career doing civil litigation as well as criminal prosecution. She also has accrued plenty of judicial experience, all of which have prepared her for this next step in her career," Inslee said.
Messitt graduated with her law degree from DePaul University College of Law in Chicago, where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the DePaul Law Review. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in architecture from University of Illinois.
Messitt will begin in early 2019.