After three years of dedicated advocacy with the Public Interest Law Project (PILP), Staff Attorney Palmer Buchholz will be departing the organization. Since joining PILP, Palmer has worked alongside local legal aid organizations and their clients to protect and advance the rights of lower-income people. Her contributions to our team have included litigating cases in multiple substantive areas, developing publications for and with our partner organizations on major benefits programs, and contributing to advocacy on state housing and homelessness programs. As she steps into her next chapter, we are confident that she will continue to make profound contributions to a more just, free world for low-income communities and communities of color.  

Cases Palmer has contributed to while at PILP include San Leandro Trailer Park v. City of San Leandro, et al., Murray, et al v. City of San Francisco, et al., Langley v. City of San Luis Obispo, and Vannucci v. County of Sonoma. Notably, in San Leandro Trailer Park v. City of San Leandro, et al. Palmer fought alongside low-income mobilehome park residents to protect their homes, defeating the park owner’s attempts to increase rents in both trial and appellate courts. Palmer was also the lead drafter for PILP’s Advocate’s Guides on the Housing and Disability Advocacy Program, CalWORKs Homeless Assistance, and CalWORKs Housing Support Programs aimed to improve access to and awareness of these programs. This work represents a small window into Palmer’s daily work to alleviate poverty, protect low-income residents, and expand access to crucial public benefits programs.  

Palmer is known for her diligence, good humor, and the excellent quality of her legal work. She has mentored newer staff, jumps in to support other team members on a wide range of projects, and has meaningfully touched the lives of her clients. Palmer, you will be greatly missed, and we can’t wait to see all that you do next!