Michelle Marie Alves

Michelle Alves was born with nerves of steel, a sharp intellect, and a wicked sense of humor. Good thing, because life threw her some real challenges along the way. Never crumbling, this iron-willed powerhouse took all of her talents and gifts and used them to lift others up, and not just the ones who are easy to love.

This badass - can you say badass in an obituary? Guess so. This badass criminal defense trial lawyer spent her career fighting the government, standing up for constitutional rights, and drawing the line in the sand for fairness, equality, and justice. Then she trained an entire generation of young lawyers to do the same, becoming Chief of the Trial Division at the Rhode Island Office of the Public Defender and teaching at her alma mater, Roger Williams School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Criminal Justice Hall of Fame, the Rhode Island Office of the Public Defender Hall of Fame, received the Justice Assistance 2025 Neil J. Houston Jr. Memorial Award, the 2025 Roger Williams University Champions for Justice Award and was voted Adjunct Professor of the Year at the Roger Williams University School of Law.

Michelle raised the bar with everything she did. If her mission on this Earth was to improve “the way we do things,” she succeeded every day, every year, and every decade of her twenty-year career as a public defender. She led by example, always challenging how we - as a defense community and as a society - could “do better.” The best part of her endless quest to exceed expectations and improve the administration of justice is that she built an army of fellow warriors along the way.

She found joy as she walked through this world. She loved animals (especially the old, broken ones), nature, the Boston Red Sox, and sending emails to prosecutors at 5:30 a.m. just so they’d know she was already sitting at her desk and getting a head start on them. She loved her friends, her students, her home, her career, and a lifetime of spoiled pets - leaving behind 3-year-old Rico and 300-year-old Mindy, but joining her beloved dogs Peaches, Tootsie and Dottie.

Michelle also leaves behind her mother, Patricia Accardi; her brother, Marc Alves (and wife Erin); sister, Andrea Cook; stepmother, Judy Alves; father-in-law, Ron Chaves; mother-in-law, Judy Chaves; sister-in-law, Jacki Lane (and husband Chris); nieces Abigail Alves, Gabriella Alves, Jackie Nunes, Tricia Nunes, Ada Schriber, and Natalia Vicini, and nephews Owen Schriber and Rogue Lane.

She found the love of her life in Andrea Difilippo, her devoted and supportive spouse, who stood by her side through every joy and challenge - most especially the challenge of having to listen to endless stories of criminal cases. Through the unthinkable, Andrea was an unwavering presence for Michelle. She didn’t just stand by Michelle when things got tough; she showed everyone what real love looks like: showing up, staying steady, and laughing anyway.

And because every legend deserves at least one story: once, while arguing at a sentencing hearing, Michelle’s client began to cry over the extraordinary things she was saying about his character and his capacity for redemption. Seeing this, Michelle started to cry too. Through tears, she told the judge, “If I sit down, nobody will see me cry…” - but she kept going anyway. Because the not-so-big secret about Michelle is that she had a huge heart. The reason she set such high standards for all of us is because she cared deeply, fiercely, endlessly. She was generous and considerate, and why is it always the best ones who have to leave us early?

Michelle also wants posthumous credit for being such a good patient. Many thanks to the Rhode Island Hospital neurological and oncology teams, and apologies to anyone who had to run an IV - Michelle’s impressive strength did not extend to a gentle needle poke from trained professionals. Drs. Clark Chen and Eric Wong are extraordinary physicians who became Michelle and Andrea’s compass in the storm. With care, honesty, and kindness, they guided Michelle and Andrea through this journey with brilliance and compassion.

She died with dignity, she died with grace, and she died on her own terms. Which means that, for one final time, she showed us how it’s done. She was surrounded by her wife and her closest friends - an inappropriate coven of lawyers and loved ones who were totally unprepared to be caretakers but who filled her final days with love, laughter, and junk food. She loved and appreciated all of them, and she demanded a public expression of gratitude to Philip Vicini, Rebecca Aitchison, Kara Hoopis Manosh, Melissa Braatz Black, Jacki Lane, Donna White and LEM. Specials thanks go out to her hospice nurse, Celia Raymond, whose calm, steady care kept Michelle comfortable, and who heroically managed a crew of friends completely unqualified for the job.

Michelle never admitted defeat, and she is absolutely not doing so in death. Cancer didn’t win, because now the enormous team of fighters that Michelle built is mobilizing to find a cure for glioblastoma. Count your days, brain cancer - you messed with the wrong chick.

Michelle’s diagnosis led to an avalanche of supportive friends, kind words, and empathetic gestures. That love filled her heart and made her final days both bearable and beautiful. To honor her memory, please continue to send that positive energy into the universe and choose one of the following options: be kind to a stray animal, perform a random act of kindness for someone in need, or call a case “ready trial” and fight like hell for a not-guilty verdict.

If you are a former client of Michelle’s, she has a message for you: she wishes you a beautiful life