About Debra
Debra Garlinghouse has built a steady legal career that links active bar involvement to alumni leadership. She is known in local circles for her work on committee matters and for staying connected to the law school community that shaped her early professional years. Her approach to practice is methodical and matter-of-fact. Colleagues describe her as thorough and attentive to procedural detail.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Albion College in 1988. After several years that included community and academic engagement, she returned to legal studies and received her J.D. from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 1996. Those years at Cooley appear to have left a lasting impression. She remains involved with the school’s regional alumni efforts.
Garlinghouse began her legal career in Michigan soon after completing law school. Over time she developed experience across firm work and bar association activities. She currently practices at The Law Offices of Lee Steinberg, P.C., where she contributes to the firm’s caseload and participates in collaborative legal work. Her role at the firm includes drafting, case preparation and advocacy in court settings when required.
Her professional associations are a significant part of how she practices. She maintains membership in the State Bar of Michigan and plays an active role in the Michigan Association of Justice, where she serves as chair of the Amicus Committee. In that capacity she helps organize the committee’s review and submission of friend-of-the-court briefs and coordinates input from chapter members. She is also a founding member of the Southeastern Michigan Chapter of the Cooley Alumni Association and continues to support alumni programming and mentoring efforts.
Garlinghouse balances firm responsibilities with bar leadership and alumni involvement. She attends hearings, prepares appellate and trial materials, and works with peers on amicus projects that address questions of law affecting litigants across the state. Her day-to-day practice is punctuated by committee meetings and alumni events, reflecting a career that mixes hands-on legal work with civic and professional participation.
She currently practices at The Law Offices of Lee Steinberg, P.C., where she handles casework and contributes to amicus brief efforts and bar association activities.
