Allie Sipe ’17, Housing Attorney in Legal Aid
By Annalynn Mueller, senior English Major
May 22, 2025
Pictured above: Allie Sipe
Note from Allie: “Please note that the reflections below represent my own personal views only and not the views of any of the organizations or firms where I work or have previously worked.”
Allie Sipe graduated from Southern Oregon University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Anthropology/Sociology. During her time at SOU, Allie worked at the Tutoring Center as a writing tutor. Additionally, she participated in the National Student Exchange program with the University of New Mexico, where she worked on the literary magazine staff of Scribendi.
After graduation, Allie moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where she taught middle school English and English as a Second Language through Teach For America. Allie loved working with students and families but got burned out teaching large classes, so she decided to make a career change. While scrolling through job postings, she applied for a job as a housing advocate for AmeriCorps Legal Advocates of Massachusetts: “That job, and my supervising attorney in that job, made me realize the importance of legal aid and the privilege of working for tenant clients.”
Allie eventually moved back to the West Coast during the pandemic, where she worked as an intern at the District Attorney’s Office as a library aide/literary assistant in her hometown, Quincy, California. In addition to working, she spent that time studying for the LSAT and applying to law schools.
She attended and graduated from Berkeley Law in 2024, took the bar exam, and began working as a housing advocate for a legal aid organization in San Jose, California. After passing the bar exam, her role changed to staff attorney in the housing unit of the organization.
Pictured Above: Allie Sipe graduating Berkeley Law School.
As a housing attorney, Allie provides free civil legal services to low-income families, and defends tenants in eviction cases. To do this, she meets with clients, drafts pleadings and motions, and goes to court. Additionally, she conducts legal research, presents at various tenants’ rights trainings, and collaborates with the rest of the housing team (other attorneys and social workers on staff).
“As a housing attorney, I’m able to educate tenants about their rights and advocate for families. I’m tasked with advocating for folks who are sometimes undergoing the most difficult and stressful times in their lives, and I take that seriously.”
– Allie Sipe
The most meaningful part of Allie’s job is getting to work with clients and getting to advocate for people who are often coming to her office “in a very difficult, if not the most difficult, time in their lives.”
Even though Allie did not see herself becoming a lawyer while she was in college, she did have a first exposure to legal writing in Dr. Ed Battistella’s honors seminar course, “Language, Law, and Society.” She credits this class for “sparking [her] real first interest in legal writing and law.”
Her time at SOU helped uniquely prepare Allie in other ways: “My role as a housing attorney draws on my prior experiences as a writing tutor and teacher. Building trust and rapport with clients and communicating clearly with folks is a crucial skill in my job—and in lawyering in general.” Her English degree is the “backbone in [her] day-to-day work.” Foundational English major skills like quickly reading and analyzing documents, writing, and editing have been “incredibly helpful” to Allie.
“Now, I use my English degree every day. My strong foundation in writing and editing is my backbone in my day-to-day work of drafting letters, pleadings, and motions, and communicating with opposing counsel.”
– Allie Sipe
Allie encourages anyone interested in pursuing a career in legal aid, or anything else in the legal field to “seek out hands-on experience” to find out what works and what doesn’t. To get that hands-on experience, she recommends “reaching out to trusted community members.”
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