About Emily
Emily Beschen earned her J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2010 after beginning law studies in 2007. Her legal education came after early work in policy and consumer issues, and she moved into courtroom and trial training soon after finishing law school.
Her first recorded position in the public record is as a Consumer Analyst in 2006 at the Lawyer Generals Office. She served as a law clerk in 2008 at the Federal Public Defenders Office, an early connection that shaped much of her subsequent professional activity. Those roots in public defense continued through training programs later in her career, including the Techniques in Electronic Case Management course in 2014 and the Trial Skills Academy in 2015, both run by the Federal Public Defenders Office.
Beschen has been active in the Washington criminal defense community for more than a decade. She joined the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in 2010 and contributed to the group’s legislative work and later to its awards committee. Locally, she took on leadership roles in Whatcom County: she served on the Public Defense Advisory Committee from 2020 to 2022 and led Whatcom Women Lawyers as president from 2019 through 2022. Her work on continuing legal education in the county included service on the Whatcom County Bar CLE Committee between 2016 and 2018.
Her experience blends public-sector practice, training and professional governance. She has practical courtroom preparation from the Trial Skills Academy and technical case-management training from the TECM series. Committee work and volunteer roles show an interest in how rules and resources affect criminal defense practice at the state level.
Beschen is licensed to practice in Washington and in the Federal Circuit. She maintains an office under the name Emily C. Beschen and continues to be involved in public defense networks and local bar initiatives. Her current practice handles criminal defense matters and related federal appellate work.
