About Elizabeth Villalpando
Elizabeth Villalpando Reed built her legal foundation at the University of Texas–Pan American, earning an LL.B. in 1997. She returned to academic study a decade later, completing two LL.M. degrees at St. Mary’s University School of Law: International and Comparative Law in 2007 and American Legal Studies in 2008. The back-to-back master's work deepened her exposure to cross-border legal issues and U.S. immigration frameworks.
After law school, Reed moved into private practice and domestic partnerships. In 2001 she served as a partner at Sánchez, Villalpando & Asociados, a role that placed her in the management core of a firm and involved regular client counseling. By 2007 she was working in clinical settings as a student lawyer in St. Mary’s Immigration and Human Rights Clinic, where she handled direct client matters under supervision and worked on cases touching on asylum, family petitions, and administrative relief.
Her early public-interest work continued in the same period. She joined Telephone Access to Justice at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid as a TAJ associate in 2007. There she provided legal information and intake services by phone, helping callers understand eligibility and next steps in immigration and civil legal matters. The role exposed her to a high volume of practical problems faced by clients across the Rio Grande Valley.
In 2010 Reed took a position focusing on business immigration at M.A. Ramos & Associates, PC. The work emphasized visas for employment and intra-company transfers, and the complexities of employer sponsorship. Experience at that firm broadened her practice beyond family-based and humanitarian cases into corporate and investor visas.
She established Elizabeth Reed Law Office, PLLC in 2013 and listed immigration law as a central component of her practice. The firm handled a range of matters, from family petitions and naturalization to business and investor visa applications. Over time her practice combined courtroom and administrative advocacy with client advising on long-term immigration planning.
Colleagues describe a lawyer who combines clinical training with private-practice experience. Reed has worked in both nonprofit and for-profit settings, and she has particular familiarity with immigration and business-visa processes. Her current practice focuses on immigration law, including business visas and family-based petitions.
