Litigation Partner Ellen Robbins has been named one of five finalists for the Volunteer of the Year Award at the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2025 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards, which annually recognize individuals and companies who donate their time, funds, and efforts to improve the communities they serve.

Ellen boasts an impressive career trajectory marked by her pivotal role as a senior trial lawyer on the West Coast. With a focus on complex commercial disputes, she navigates the intricacies of state and federal courts, advocating vigorously for her clients’ interests. Ellen has achieved notable successes in her legal career, including handling groundbreaking patent litigation involving the setting of reasonable royalties for standard essential patents, prevailing in an arbitration involving misappropriation of funds and abuse of corporate power, successfully obtaining dismissal of a series of complaints premised on alter ego liability, obtaining dismissal of multiple cases involving compounding of drugs on the FDA's shortage list on grounds of preemption, and securing a $35 million judgment on alter ego and fraudulent transfer claims at trial.  Ellen regularly defends clients in putative class actions involving consumer fraud and other unfair competition claims.

Outside of her legal practice, Ellen devotes substantial time to philanthropic efforts. She has led the Sandpiper Juniors – a group of 100 high school girls committed to serving their community - for four years, and she was recently nominated to serve on the Sandpiper Scholarship Committee, where she will devote substantial time related to the selection of high school seniors from families in need to receive over $300,000 in college scholarships Ellen also has served as a mentor and Board Member of Walk With Sally for several years, playing an instrumental role in funding and developing programs aiding children whose families are impacted by cancer.

Beginning in late 2024, Ellen has regularly volunteered with Goodwill of Southern Los Angeles County, lending her expertise in fundraising, nonprofit organizational structure and management, and event planning, and is overseeing a new volunteer program. Ellen also has coordinated several large donation drives resulting in thousands of dollars being directed to Goodwill’s workforce development programs enabling those with employment challenges to find rewarding career paths.