Ashley Thomas

Ashley Thomas received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina and earned her law degree from Vermont Law School. While at Vermont Law, Ashley was involved as a chair for the National Lawyer’s Guild student chapter. She also spent a summer working in the Civil Right’s Unit of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office in Montpelier, Vermont and a semester working with the Federal Public Defender in Burlington, Vermont.

Upon graduation, Ashley moved back to her hometown of Columbia, South Carolina, and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 2007. She began her legal career as an Assistant Public Defender for the Richland County Public Defender’s Office. While working as a public defender, Ashley managed a constantly changing caseload of between 100-300 clients, with cases ranging from minor drug offenses to murder. After a few years at the public defender’s office, she decided it was time to be an advocate for people in a different way. Her work with South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center focuses on the areas of housing and community economic development.