Emily Dahl
JD
General Counsel & VP of Legal Affairs | Principal
Everyone is doing their best.
Hired
- 2022
Location
- Seattle, WA
Expertise
- Contracts
- Law
- Leadership
As GeoEngineers’ in-house attorney, Emily has a lot on her plate. She is responsible for reviewing and supervising contracts, supporting risk management and insurance programs, managing potential claims and lawsuits, and providing strategic legal advice and leadership. Business always comes with risks, and professional consulting can be especially hazardous. We depend on Emily’s years of commercial litigation experience to reduce the firm’s risks, protect our investments, and inform firm governance. When the law is involved, so is Emily.
“Law school seemed like a no-brainer because my dad and both of my grandfathers were attorneys,” Emily explains. “It was absolutely the right decision; I loved law school and the intellectual exercise of law in general.”
After graduation, Emily tried several jobs before finding a position and area of law that truly inspired her. She represented homeowner and condo associations for a small firm, then moved on to a much larger company to focus on insurance defense, trademark infringement, employment, and commercial litigation. Although Emily learned from each experience, neither seemed like the right long-term fit.
“After taking a little time to travel and clear my head, I accidentally got a job at a mid-sized firm that primarily represented design professionals,” Emily says. “It was there that I finally found colleagues and an area of law that inspired me.”
For the next seven years, Emily worked as a commercial litigator for engineering design professionals. She guided her clients through lawsuits and provided legal advice for the countless issues that come up in the normal course of business. The engineering industry brought unique challenges, but for Emily, that was part of the appeal.
“I loved that I had to become an expert in the engineering issues at stake to effectively represent my clients,” Emily says.
Emily encountered GeoEngineers for the first time during her work as outside counsel. Impressed by GeoEngineers’ leadership and the employees she met; it wasn’t long before Emily decided to bring her legal skills to GeoEngineers full time.
“It is inspiring to work with people who are excited about what they do,” Emily says. “Transitioning from outside counsel to work inside GeoEngineers seemed like the second ‘no-brainer’ of my professional life.”
Emily makes an effort to balance her busy professional life with hobbies and personal interests. She enjoys hanging out with friends and family, keeps up a regular meditation practice, and tries to spend as much time outside as possible. Depending on the season, Emily might be skiing in the mountains or surfing at the beach—a childhood hobby she picked up again during the pandemic.
“Most weekends you will find me in the water at the Oregon coast,” Emily says. “But my current unfulfilled dream is to learn tennis and play it regularly. If anyone has advice for a middle-aged woman who wants to take up and excel at a new sport, I’m all ears!”
