Fletcher was one of the first women to become a partner in a major American law firm and the second woman to be appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

[1] Born in Tacoma, Washington to an attorney and his wife who were active New Deal Democrats, Elizabeth Binns wanted to be a lawyer from a young age.

[2] Because so many men were away during World War II, Binns was admitted to the Stanford Law School, and completed one year before marrying Robert L. Fletcher, who was soon assigned to fly anti-aircraft blimps out of Lakehurst, New Jersey.

With her parents' assistance in caring for their four young children (and renting out their own house to live in Lakewood), Fletcher resumed her legal education after a decade, now commuting to Seattle to study at the University of Washington School of Law.

[6] Fletcher was nominated by President Jimmy Carter on July 12, 1979, to a new seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, created by 92 Stat.