Our Team

Ellen has secured landmark judgments and public settlements in closely watched public interest, civil rights and whistleblower cases.  She has also achieved important success as appellate counsel for her clients, helping to shape the law and assure that their interests are protected.  In addition, Ellen has successfully represented individuals accused of homicide, money laundering, identity theft, and business fraud, assisting them in successfully navigating the fraught waters of criminal prosecution.

Ellen's clients have included bank and health care industry executives, business leaders, physicians, academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, small business owners, private equity firms, and art dealers, as well as public sector and construction workers.

In Chambers USA rankings, Ellen has been described as a "a wonderful lawyer ... smart as a whip, very engaging and terrific on her feet.” She has been dubbed a trailblazer by the National Law Journal and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly described her as one of the top trial lawyers in the state and a "go-to" attorney on employment law issues.

At the start of her legal career, Ellen served as a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Nancy Gertner in the Federal District Court of Massachusetts.

Representative Matters

• Represented a woman police detective who claimed gender discrimination and retaliation, securing a $4.2 million verdict, including findings in favor of the plaintiff on both claims and a substantial punitive damages award, after a multi-week trial in Massachusetts state court and protected the verdict from challenge leading ultimately to a judgment in excess of $5.7 million and a commendation from the Court for the team’s “extraordinary preparation” at trial;

• Represented a celebrated orthopedic surgeon who blew the whistle on the practice of permitting the double-booking of surgical cases at one of Boston’s most renowned hospitals, working with him through a peer review process and in litigation based upon his healthcare whistleblowing claims and securing – after vigorous and contested litigation – a public settlement with a payment to him in the amount of $13 million, the establishment of a safety lecture in his name and the invitation for him to return to the medical staff of the hospital that had terminated his appointment;

• Served as lead counsel for an ob-GYN surgeon in Anchorage, Alaska, securing a reversal of the termination of her clinical privileges and medical staff appointment after a multiple day adversarial proceeding, marking the first time that the largest health network in the Pacific Northwest had ever been asked by a fair hearing committee to reverse course and ultimately resolving her civil claims against the hospital;

• Represented a Latino professor in tenure denial action against a top tier university, securing a settlement that included not only monetary relief but the institution’s pledge to engage in an in-depth study relating to race discrimination in the tenure and promotion processes at the institution and other institutional changes that were achieved;

• Represented police leadership in a local municipality on issues that arose in the context of advocating for police reform and during the COVID pandemic, assisting him in returning to his position and in securing the closure of an investigation by the POST Commission;

• Served as sentencing counsel for a criminal defendant who had pled guilty to identity theft and fraud involving the personal data of consumers purchasing goods at two major consumer goods chains, ultimately securing a favorable outcome for him in light of the circumstances;

• Represented a technology entrepreneur in advancing breach of fiduciary duty and other claims and successfully resolving the dispute after challenging a motion to force arbitration of her claims;

• Represented a senior finance leader in negotiating her exit from a significant private equity firm in New York and her ability to retain the fund she managed;

• Represented a New York City art-dealer accused of money-laundering in excess of $4 million, securing a favorable outcome including his plea to a misdemeanor and his ability to remain in the United States as a foreign national;

• Served as lead counsel to a defendant in a theft of proprietary information (Lanham Act) case in Tyler, Texas, securing dismissal of all claims against him;

• Represented an anesthesiologist, the first woman to serve as Chair of a major medical department at the Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals, prevailing on appeal of the trial court’s decision not to force her claims of discrimination and retaliation into arbitration and ultimately resolving the case on the eve of trial for a public settlement in the amount of $7 million, while she retained her position at the hospital, which named its Pain Clinic after her; 

• Represented several women of color employed by the City of Cambridge on race discrimination and retaliation claims, ultimately securing a jury verdict favoring one woman, with a punitive damages award of over $3.5 million, and a judgment in that matter – after an unsuccessful appeal by the City – in excess of $8 million, as well as the settlement of the other claims, with damages awarded to the clients in excess of $14 million; and

• Obtained dismissal of arson charges brought against a college student.

Education

• Boston College Law School, J.D.

• London School of Economics and Political Science, M.Sc. in Political Theory

• Wesleyan University, B.A

Admissions

• Massachusetts

• U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

• First Circuit Court of Appeals for Massachusetts

Honors and Awards

• National Law Journal  Winner: Plaintiffs Bar Elite Women (2024)

• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Circle of Excellence, Top Women of the Law (2024)

• Lawdragon's 500 Leading Civil Rights & Plaintiff Employment Lawyers (2021-2024)

• Chambers USA — Labor & Employment Law, Notable Practitioner (2011-2022), Band 1 (2020­- 2024)

• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Go-To Lawyer, Employment (2023 - 24)

• Boston Magazine, Top Lawyers List, Labor and Employment (2021-2023)

• The Best Lawyers in America© Best Lawyer, Commercial Litigation(2013-2025)

• The National Law Journal Plaintiff's Lawyers Trailblazer (2020)

• Profiles in Diversity Journal, Women Worth Watching List (2019)

• Massachusetts Super Lawyers (2006, 2008-2025)

• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Top Women of the Law (2018)

• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Top Lawyers of the Year (2009)

• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Battle of the Lawyers (2009)

• National Organization for Women, Massachusetts Chapter, Wonder Woman Award (2013)

• Boston College Law School's Women's Law Center Woman of the Year (2013)

• NAACP, Cambridge Chapter, Dr. Martin Luther King Drum Major for Justice Award (2013)

• Massachusetts Senate Citation (Murray, T. Senate President) for dedicated service to social justice (2013)

• Boston Magazine, Power List (2009)

• Governor’s Citation (Gov. Deval Patrick) for dedicated service to Marriage Equality (2007)

Select Speaking Engagements/Publications

• Panelist, “Tips for Trial,” Seyfarth, Shaw Webinar, September 2024

• Faculty and Keynote Demonstration of Opening Statements with Discussion, as part of week­long boot camp for trial lawyers, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (“MCLE”) Trial Advocacy Workshop (Annually) 2014 – 2024

• Faculty at the MCLE’s Annual Employment Law Conference on issues including damages in employment cases, retaliation, cutting edge issues in employment law, the law of retaliation, and attorney fee awards (2024, 2023, 2021, 2020 and other years)

• Speaker, “Litigating In the Public Eye,” The Institute for Digital Archaeology, Oxford University, England April 2023

• Author, “NDAs: Is There Anything Worth Keeping?” Point/Counter-Point on the Status of Non-Disclosure Agreement, Boston Bar Journal, Summer of 2022

• Panelist, "Having Their Say: Protections for At-Will Employees after Meehan," Panelist, Women in the Courtroom Committee of the Women's Bar Association, June 2021

• Panelist, "It's a Mess Out There: An Update on Whistleblower Retaliation Law;'” Boston Bar Association, February 2021

• Speaker, The Unwritten Rules of Negotiation, Babson University’s Women in Leadership Program,October 2019

• Panelist, "Effective Attorneys' Fee Petitions: Perspectives from the Bench and Bar: Boston Bar Association CLE Program, April 2013

• Faculty, "Litigating Damages in Discrimination and Retaliation Cases," Strafford Webinar, June 2012

• Speaker, "Drafting More Powerful Demand Letters in Employment Cases: MCLE Employment Law Briefing," MCLE Webinar, June 2012

• Speaker, "Developing Mastery in Negotiation and Leadership," Havard University, Negotiation & Leadership Conference, April 2012

Professional and Community Involvement

Over her decades of experience and advocacy, Ellen has served as a member or in leadership of the following organizations:

• Suffolk University Law School, Former Adjunct Faculty

• Massachusetts Bar Association Journal, Past Editorial Board member

• Massachusetts Bar Association, Past Member and Chair of the Access to Justice Committee

• Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Past Member of the Board of Editors

• Women's Bar Association, Past Member of its Board of Directors

• MassEquality.Org, Past Member and Chair of the Board of Directors

• American Civil Liberties Union, Massachusetts Chapter, Past Member of the ACLU of Massachusetts’ Legal Committee and Cooperating Attorney

• National Organization for Women (NOW), Past member of its National Board of Directors and President of its local chapter