Joseph Reiley grew up in Pennsylvania and attended Lafayette College. In 1992, he moved to Oregon to attend law school. After graduating from the University of Oregon Law School in 1995, he performed a year of service with AmeriCorps through the NorthWest Service Academy in Trout Lake, Washington. Following a clerkship with the Honorable Robert Herndon, Clackamas County Circuit Court, he worked for Multnomah Defenders, Inc., and then in private practice in Lane County.
He is currently inactive with the bar and has been the Lane County Veterans Services program supervisor since 2003. He has served as the President of the Oregon County Veterans Service Officer Association from 2009 - 2012 and 2021-2022.