Law Office of Kate Walsham

Kate Walsham started Walsham Law after a career in non-profit legal services. Kate has been representing claimants for disability benefits since 2014. From 2018 - 2025 Kate worked first as a Staff Attorney and then as a Supervising Attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid where they coordinated and supervised a pre-release application project assisting disabled people incarcerated in Alameda County secure benefits to prevent their reincarceration. Prior to their work at Bay Legal, Kate worked for the ACLU of New Mexico on a transgender rights project including Know-Your-Rights work, advocacy, and litigation in healthcare, employment, incarceration, and public access cases. 

During their career, Kate has developed expertise coaching junior practitioners to navigate vicarious trauma, establish healthy boundaries with clients, and prevent burnout in an emotionally demanding and rigorous field; embedding EDI+ principles into hiring practices to recruit & retain historically underrepresented talent and reimagine how legal services practitioners relate to and engage with their clients & communities; adapting communication styles and engagement strategies to influence & educate diverse audiences, including non-native speakers, people experiencing homelessness, policymakers, judges, lawyers, and government staff; and, steering negotiations between management and the workers' union concerning two three-year contracts and achieved an outcome satisfactory to all parties, entailing improved working conditions, significant parental leave time, and a 40% salary increase.

They hold a JD with concentrations in Criminal Law and Social Justice Lawyering from UC Law San Francisco and a BA in Chemistry from Wellesley College.