James C. Egan

A History of Success 

James Egan was born and raised in Seattle and attended Seattle Public Schools. He graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in 1994 with a degree in Philosophy. Mr. Egan honed his writing skills as the Editor-in-Chief of the Whitman College newspaper, The Whitman Pioneer. He traveled and spoke publicly with the Whitman College Debate Team and Theater Program. Mr. Egan then served as a public defense investigator with a Seattle area Public Defense Agency (SCRAP) over two years and published stories as a newspaper reporter for a weekly in Cornwall, Southwest England.

James Egan then attended and graduated from the esteemed University of Washington Law School, which in 1995 was recognized as among the top 10% of law schools in the nation in a national magazine. Many classes were passed with Honors, and Mr. Egan participated in Moot Court and Mock Trial competitions. Mr. Egan focused on criminal defense law before, during and after law school, and applied and served as a Rule 9 Prosecutor for at least seven cities from 1997 through 1998. These included Shoreline, North Bend, Federal Way, Burien, Issaquah, Medina and Hunt’s Point. Several bench trials, including DUI and assault trials, were regularly prosecuted on behalf of these cities.

Shortly after graduation and passing the Washington State Bar Exam in 1998, Mr. Egan joined forces with the firm of nationally recognized lawyer David Gehrke (Mary Kay Letourneau) and helped defend an Attempted Murder client through to jury trial. Mr. Egan then became a public defense attorney with Northwest Defenders Association in Seattle in 1999.

As a public defender, Mr. Egan handled 40-50+ cases per month (over 500 clients). Many of those cases involved felony VUCSA, Assault, Cocaine and Amphetamine charges in King County Superior Court. Mr. Egan also spent several months in the misdemeanor unit, handling DUIs and Assault cases of defendants charged from the WTO protestor clashes with police in November 1999. Mr. Egan and Attorney John McGoodwin (now Seattle City Attorney) defended a client charged with Assault in a televised jury trial which resulted in an acquittal, and subsequent dismissal of dozens of related charges for clients.

James Egan has carefully selected Associate Attorneys with vast experience in DUI and other criminal cases. James Egan believes the association of several smart attorneys for the collective goal of defending clients is a substantial benefit in an area as complex as criminal or DUI defense.

Mr. Egan has represented over 1,000 clients (mainly DUI) and has conducted over 30 jury trials in and around Seattle-area courts, with a high success rate. James Egan is a past member of the National College for DUI Defense, and is certified in the instruction of National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration Field Sobriety Tests, as given by police officers to DUI suspects. James Egan has also taught other attorneys how to conduct jury trials through Legal Education courses at the Washington State Bar Association.

James Egan is the published author of “What you should know BEFORE being stopped for DUI,” a prominent article in both the Seattle Weekly and the Stranger magazine in 2010. James Egan is a member of the Washington State Bar, the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and formerly the Washington Trial Lawyers Association. James Egan has obtained several dismissals of criminal charges through judge and jury trials, and through creative, passionate arguments grounded in legal reasoning. This is someone to have on your side.