Michael Evan Beckman has been practicing law since 1982. Since focusing on parole law in 1985, he has represented over 2000 inmates seeking parole. As of January 2021, 240+ of his clients have paroled out of prison.
Beckman earned his B.A.with Distinction and Honors, in Literature and American History from the University of Michigan in 1979. He earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1982.
Beckman was admitted to the California State Bar in December 1982. After many years as a civil litigator, in 2000, he became a mediator, and has mediated cases for the Los Angeles Superior Court, the United States Equal Opportunity Commission, United States Bankruptcy Court, and special education due process cases as an Administrative Law Judge. In 2004, he joined the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and arbitrated disputes between brokerage firms and investors. His pro bono work has ranged from representing abused children through the Child Advocate’s Office and Children’s Institute International, to representing elderly and indigent renters through Bet Tzedek Legal Services. In 2003, he was nominated for Volunteer Mediator Of The Year for Los Angeles County.
Since 2005, Beckman has represented inmates at parole suitability hearings before the California Board of Parole Hearings and petitions for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in state and federal courts challenging denial of parole. He's represented lifers, youthful and elderly offenders, third strikers, and non-violent parole candidates. In 2011, he argued a seminal parole law case to the California Supreme Court. In 2014, he began representing inmates serving Life Without The Possibility of Parole (LWOP) for crimes committed as juveniles in their attempts to be resentenced to Life With The Possibility of Parole.
In August 2016, Beckman became Adjunct Professor of Law at Southwestern University School of Law, where he co-taught the Youthful Offender Parole Clinic. Suspended due to lack of funding, Beckman hopes to help reopen the clinic very soon.
On the side, Beckman writes screenplays, several of which have been optioned and placed in major screenplay competitions. For fun, he spends quality time with his beautiful wife Ewa and their daughter Hannah and two wonderful dogs. He travels, works out, and skis. He’s also a champion amateur Texas Hold-em Tournament player and a champion fantasy basketball and football player, and an advocate for children and animal rights.