Meet Our Team
Peyton Jacobsen (she/they)
Attorney/Partner
Court Admissions
Washington State King County Superior Court
Washington State King County District Court
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
In 2020, Peyton Jacobsen (she/they) was studying the law and witnessing firsthand the brutalization of her friends and neighbors at the hands of SPD during the George Floyd uprisings for racial justice. These experiences shaped her commitment to abolition and movement lawyering. She has spent her years since graduating law school working in indigent defense representation. She practiced for several years as an eviction defense attorney before transitioning to immigration removal defense practice in 2024. Highlights from her time in eviction court include securing funds for a wrongfully evicted client and developing strong relationships with Tacoma’s unprecedented fight for tenant protections.
She is experienced in confronting state violence in the courtroom and prioritizing connection and partnership with her clients. Lately, Peyton has been responding to the intense community need for habeas corpus lawsuits for migrants who have been illegally detained by the federal government and representing pro-Palestine protestors in criminal court.
Peyton grew up in Seattle, and her work is grounded in deep love and care for the city that raised her, as well as in the belief that the law is just one (small!) piece in the puzzle for collective liberation. Peyton is deeply committed to using her knowledge and access to support and sustain resistance movements throughout Seattle and King County.
In her free time, Peyton loves making playlists to match her mood, cooking for her loved ones, and meandering the Central District with her dog, Louise.
Ariel Bailey (she/her)
Attorney/Partner
Court Admissions
Washington State
California (inactive)
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Ariel Bailey (she/her) is an immigration attorney with extensive experience representing immigrants and their family members in family-based and humanitarian immigration applications. She also has experience defending asylum seekers against deportation in Immigration Court and, more recently, against unlawful detention in federal court. Although she has represented clients from all backgrounds, she has worked most extensively with members of the African diaspora, the LGBTQI+ community, and survivors of violence.
Ariel started her career by representing undocumented students and their families in the University of California system and went on to manage the immigration department of the West African Community Council in Seattle. Although her impact is not measured by her legal "wins," she has had success helping clients get asylum, green cards, work permits, naturalization, humanitarian parole, and other forms of protection. Her favorite part of her job, however, is when she can help someone understand their complicated immigration situation clearly and empower them to make informed choices.
Ariel believes fiercely in freedom of movement and self-determination; these values motivate her to work toward a world without borders or colonial power. She believes migration benefits all of us and feels incredibly privileged to live in community with people from all over the world. She values trust and honesty in her partnerships with her clients, and she hopes to serve as a trauma-informed resource in their immigration journeys. Above all, she hopes clients leave her office knowing that they won't have to face the immigration system alone.
Sam Sueoka (he/him)
Attorney/Partner
Court Admissions
Washington State King County Superior Court
Washington State King County District Court
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Sam Sueoka (he/him) is experienced in representing people in state criminal court and federal immigration detention. He previously worked at the King County Public Defenders office where he advocated for people charged with misdemeanor crimes and also represented individuals who were involuntarily held in treatment facilities. Sam handled bail hearings, pre-trial motions to suppress, sentencing hearings, and jury trials.
Sam believes that the U.S. legal system was created as a tool to oppress and control the working class and that eventually he would like to live in a world where the legal profession ceases to exist and is replaced with networks of care and community. Sam wishes to use his bar card to help de-mystify the legal system and advocate for people who are currently being subjected to its everyday horrors.
Sam has experience representing political activists; such as a local organizer that was arrested and charged with obstruction for standing up against homeless encampment sweeps. Sam and his legal team also won a law suit regarding his Public Records Act request to identify the six Seattle Police officers who went to Washington DC on January 6, 2021.
Recently Sam has been fighting against the Trump Administrations illegal and immoral immigration enforcement by filing Habeas Corpus petitions to help free community members in Washington. In one case, Sam and Peyton Jacobsen filed a lawsuit alleging that the medical Neglect at the Northwest Detention Center amounts to punishment.(Sorio v. Hermosillo, et al., 2:25-CV-02492-TL, 2026 WL 413530 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 13, 2026)(Court Grants release).Sam also filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that his client should be released after being kidnapped by ICE agents at the Seattle immigration courthouse. A federal judge ordered ICE to release him and not re-detain him. (See Sira-Hurtado v. Hermosillo, 2025).
Sam grew up in Hawaii and is proudly Japanese. As a guiding light he hold closely to his heart the martyrs in Palestine, the migrants in detention, and the Japanese Americans who were taken by the US government and thrown into concentration camps. The horrors of US imperialism connect us all and we must work together to tear it down.
Court Admissions
Washington State King County Superior Court
Washington State King County District Court
New York State
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
Rowan Laidlaw (she/her)
Attorney/Partner
Rowan Laidlaw is experienced in representing political activists and indigent clients. She previously worked for the King County Public Defenders office advocating for the release of clients from civil detention. She also represented Palestine liberation activists pro-bono in the Seatac 46 criminal case (2024) and UW33 school disciplinary hearing (2025). Through motions practice, joint defense, and collaborating with activists on legal strategy, all Seatac defendants' criminal charges were dismissed. Students in the UW disciplinary hearing were facing expulsion, but through leveraging strategies similar to the Seatac 46 legal defense, all students were allowed to return to school. Currently, Rowan is working on the legal team for tech-employees criminalized for their Palestine liberation activism. She is also working with community organizations to file federal Habeas Corpus petitions to free people from the Tacoma ICE detention center. These experiences have made Rowan a trusted lawyer within the Seattle organizing community.
Rowan recognizes that the legal system is a limited tool which is not well suited for true justice. Once a client has entered the legal system, already so much harm has been done; Rowan believes her role is to limit any further harm towards her clients and their communities as much as possible. Representing clients is one of the great honors of her life, and Rowan is driven by a mission to empower her clients to make informed decisions for themselves and fiercely advocate for their desired outcome.
Despite the limitations of the legal system, Rowan believes that through movement lawyering and community partnership, people can use legal tools to take power back from state oppressors. Rowan’s mission as a lawyer is to disseminate legal knowledge to communities so they have agency to make their own decisions and the ability to use the legal system to their benefit without needing a bar-card. Along these lines, through her involvement with Seattle National Lawyers Guild, Rowan organizes Know Your Rights trainings for community activists, and legal skill trainings on movement lawyering for attorneys.