Riley Allen is the kind of person who wants to know how things work, why they work that way, and what she can learn by getting a little closer to them. It explains a lot about her. Why she studied Public Policy and United States History and Education at UNC-Chapel Hill. Why she spent a semester studying in Scotland. Why a longtime interest in law turned into legal internships, advocacy work, and eventually a job at Triangle Smart Divorce. And why, even though law school may be in her future, Riley decided she wanted to spend some time actually working in the legal world before deciding what comes next. 

Riley has always loved being a student, but she’s just as interested in what she can learn outside a classroom. At UNC, where she graduated with distinction, she looked for opportunities to put what she was learning into practice. She conducted historical and policy research, worked with UNC Student Legal Services, served as a student advocate, and represented students through UNC’s Honor System. 

The more Riley experienced the legal world, the more family law started to stand out. She was drawn to work that has a real impact on people’s everyday lives, especially when they’re going through something difficult. That interest also led her to volunteer with a local crisis response organization, helping people dealing with domestic violence navigate an unfamiliar legal process. It showed Riley just how important it can be to have someone beside you who knows what comes next. 

By then, Riley knew she wanted to learn more about family law from the inside. And she already knew about Triangle Smart Divorce. In fact, she had been keeping an eye on TSD before there was even a job here for her. Or, as she put it during her interview for this bio, she was “stalking” us. Turns out, there is such a thing as good stalking. 

As an Administrative Assistant, Riley gets exactly the kind of variety that keeps her interested. She helps at the front desk, where she may be one of the first people a Client sees or talks to, while also spending much of her time supporting our billing department. One minute may involve helping a Client, the next digging into numbers or solving a problem behind the scenes. She likes having different responsibilities, using her brain in different ways, and continuing to learn how a family law firm actually works.  

Riley’s curiosity has never been limited to work or school. North Carolina has been home since elementary school, but getting here included stops in Wisconsin, Oregon, and Ohio before her family eventually landed in the Triangle. She originally pictured herself leaving again for a small college in the Northeast, but when it came time to choose, she realized she wanted to stay closer to home. UNC won out, and Riley didn’t just attend. She became a Tar Heel. 

Basketball is the main event for Riley, while UNC football gets a somewhat more measured level of enthusiasm. Her mom played soccer, so she also grew up with an appreciation for the sport and loves watching the World Cup and going to NC Courage games. Riley herself was a competitive swimmer in high school and still follows Olympic swimming. 

And while Riley ultimately chose to stay close to home for college, she has found plenty of other ways to explore. She studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh and more recently hiked part of the Camino de Santiago. And Riley’s curiosity doesn’t exactly turn off in her free time. She loves historical fiction and documentaries, and one of her favorite books is Pachinko. Then there’s Salt, the cat who spent about a year living outside Riley’s college house before Riley finally decided he should just live inside with her. It was a lengthy adoption process, but Salt eventually got the job. 

That combination of learning, exploring, and helping people is a big part of what makes Riley excited to be at Triangle Smart Divorce. She gets to learn the family law world from the inside while also helping the Clients we serve throughout Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, and the surrounding Triangle. For someone who loves figuring things out almost as much as she loves being useful to other people, it’s a pretty good place to be.