Peter Michael Isbister

Born and raised in Santa Cruz, California, Peter has always been committed to social justice.  In his immigration practice he is most interested in deportation defense and representing people in ICE detention. Peter now lives in Decatur, GA with his wife and three children.

 Peter is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

Between college and law school Peter spent a year in Guatemala. He worked for the Human Rights Ombudsman's office in Quetzaltenango (La Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos) and later La Defensoria Maya in Santa Cruz del Quiche.

While at Georgetown University Law Center Peter successfully represented a Falun Gong practitioner from China in an asylum case. His partner on that case, Ms. Robyn Painter, is now his wife. At the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project Peter worked under the supervision of Ms. Holly Cooper. There he successfully represented an unaccompanied minor held in INS detention in his asylum case. The client was from Honduras and sought asylum as a member of the particular social group street children. Peter also spent a summer in San Jose Costa Rica at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

After law school, Peter spent over three years a criminal public defender defending adults in misdemeanor and felony cases.

Most recently, with MALDEF, Peter was a lobbyist at the state capitol.

Peter is an enthusiast of live theater, a fan of the SF 49ers, SF Giants, Seattle Seahawks, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. Thanks to his wife, he is increasingly a fan of eating and cooking good food.