Elizabeth Franklin Best

Practice Areas

Federal Criminal Appeals and Post‑Conviction Relief

Elizabeth Franklin‑Best focuses her practice on federal criminal appeals and post‑conviction litigation, including direct appeals, 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motions, and related collateral challenges in federal courts nationwide. Her work also includes federal sentencing advocacy and post‑sentencing relief, with a particular emphasis on compassionate release applications, sentence reductions, and leveraging First Step Act mechanisms for incarcerated clients.

Career

Elizabeth Franklin‑Best is the founder of a boutique defense firm focused on white‑collar and complex federal criminal matters. She represents executives, professionals, and other individuals facing sophisticated federal investigations and prosecutions, and is most often instructed to handle direct appeals, 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motions, and compassionate release petitions arising from fraud, public corruption, and other financial and internet‑based offenses. She is typically brought in after conviction to reframe complex records, preserve and develop issues, and position clients serving lengthy terms in the Bureau of Prisons for sentence reductions, compassionate release, and related post‑sentencing relief, and on occasion advises on strategic sentencing issues in ongoing matters.

Professional Memberships

EFB is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and is a co-chair of the Amicus Committee for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals; the South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (SCACDL), the American Bar Association (ABA). She is a founding member of the South Carolina Chapter of the Women's White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA). EFB is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Languages Spoken

She speaks and writes at a B1-B2 level of French.