Marisa Christina Maleck

Marisa Christina Maleck, 37, of Washington, DC was taken from this life unexpectedly on April 17, 2023. Marisa was the much beloved daughter of Maria F. Rodriguez-Maleck and Paul M. Maleck of West Springfield, MA and the cherished sister to Marta Rodriguez Maleck of New Orleans, LA. Her family is profoundly saddened by her sudden death.

Marisa had an effervescent personality and was a kind and loving person who was wildly generous to her family and her friends. She was loved by all who knew her and made friends everywhere she went. Despite her many accomplishments, Marisa was humble, rarely talking much about her many accomplishments and preferring instead to hear about others'. She had a truly pure soul who wanted to make a difference and wanted to make people around her happy. Marisa was brilliant and absolutely loved learning and read everything, from an impressively young age until her final days. She was a fierce debater in and out of home. She honed her skills at the Amherst College debate club, and used her passion throughout her life to share her opinions and knowledge. Marisa also had an inspirationally adventurous spirit. She loved to share the experience of traveling around the globe, learning to cook new recipes, trying new kinds of food, and celebrating life to its fullest.

Marisa graduated cum laude from Amherst College where she double majored in political science and gender studies. Thereafter, she was briefly employed by The Federalist Society before starting law school in 2008. She graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago Law School in 2011 where she was awarded the Thomas R. Mulroy Prize for Excellence in Appellate Advocacy and the Ann Watson Barber Outstanding Service Award for students who have made an exceptional contribution to the quality of life at the Law School.

Marisa began her legal career as an associate at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's DC office, where she was particularly proud of her pro bono work including winning an appeal for a female victim of human trafficking and an appeal that resulted in a court striking down a voting law in Guam restricting voting to a certain race.

As was her dream, Marisa worked for the United States Supreme Court from 2015-2016. She considered herself privileged to have been selected by the Honorable Justice Clarence Thomas as one of his clerks and was so grateful to have been blessed to interact with the various Justices of the Court and their clerks. Another of her proud achievements was her clerkship for the Honorable Justice, William H. Pryor, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit which helped gird her for the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2016, Marisa joined King & Spalding where she became a partner in the Data Privacy & Security and Appellate practice. Marisa was always aware of her responsibility and had a desire to help indigents. She had a special interest in persons who had been unfairly or unjustly incarcerated and as such, had an active pro-bono practice representing indigent defendants through federal appellate appointments as part of the Criminal Justice Act program and as a screener for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.

Marisa was happiest when she balanced her life with her partner in Maine and her work in DC. In her final months of life, she worked ferociously on serious data privacy breach cases and hoped to find ways to share what she had learned. She frequently expressed how happy she was working at King & Spalding and how lucky she was to be able to do the work she loved.

Marisa loved all her family dearly and her absence in the world will be felt by many. She is survived by her parents, Maria and Paul, her sibling, Marta and her partner, Zachary Manuel of New Orleans, her paternal grandmother, Jean Bonacquist of Schenectady, NY, her beloved partner, Peter Murphy, M.D. of Maine, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends, here and abroad.

There will be a closed family service at Saint Christopher's Church with burial at Hillside Cemetery in Tiverton, RI in the coming days. In lieu of flowers to honor Marisa's memory, the family would ask you to consider making a donation to a charity of your choice or to one reflective of Marisa's advocacy work.