Staff

Interim Director and Staff Attorney

Amanda Reynoso-Palley

Amanda Reynoso-Palley joined Student Legal Services as a staff attorney in November, 2020. Amanda grew up in the Bay Area in California. She attended UC Berkeley as an undergraduate receiving a degree in Latin American History.

Amanda attended Cornell Law School. She volunteered with the International Refugee Assistance Project throughout law school and spent three semesters working in the Global Gender Justice Clinic. During her summers, she interned with the East Bay Sanctuary Coalition representing asylees, and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project focusing on equal access to education. She spent her last semester externing with Judge St. Eve in the United States District Court in the Northern District of Illinois. Upon graduating, Amanda was awarded the Frank H.T. Rhodes Fellowship, awarded yearly to one Cornell Law School graduate who has shown exceptional commitment to the field of public interest law.

Amanda began her career as an attorney at Day One in New York City where she worked for three years with young survivors of dating violence. She represented clients in obtaining orders of protection, custody and visitation orders, immigration status, housing, and public benefits. She also trained youth-serving professionals across New York City on identifying and responding to dating violence. Amanda continued her work with young people at Bay Area Legal Aid in the Youth Justice Project where she represented youth aged 13-24 who were at risk of homelessness; she provided direct representation across a host of legal areas, including: dependency, probate guardianships, family law, immigration, housing, public benefits, and consumer rights. Amanda is highly proficient in Spanish and loves traveling and spending time with her dog, Pinto!

Legal Interns

Our legal interns are UW Law School students serving as externs who provide essential legal support under the supervision of a staff attorney and a volunteer attorney in private practice. Because they are not licensed to practice law, they may offer legal advice and contribute to our office’s work under direct supervision. After law school, the legal interns continue their careers  in Washington and across the country as judicial clerks, legal services attorneys, public defenders, prosecutors, assistant attorneys general, corporate counsel, and private practitioners.

Legal Assistants

Our two legal assistants are undergraduate UW students with backgrounds and interest in law. At SLS, they learn about the practice of law in a hands-on way, collaborate with staff on administrative and client matters, and attend client meetings and court hearings. Some of their management responsibilities include training staff on office procedures and technology, collaborating on the budget process, and spearheading promotional efforts. SLS legal assistants commonly go on to attend law school or graduate school.

Outreach Intern

Our outreach intern is an undergraduate UW student with interest in law. As an intern, they assist SLS in increasing outreach in underrepresented minority communities, accessibility to resources and information, and strengthening partnerships with UW entities and stakeholders. Much of this is done through work in tabling, connecting with campus organizations, running SLS social media, designing promotional materials, and holding presentations.