The 46th ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility will be held this year at the New Orleans Marriott May 27-29, 2020. Ellen C. Brotman (BrotmanLaw, Philadelphia, PA) will be joined by Bruce Green (Louis Stein Chair of Law; Director, Stein Center at Fordham University School of Law) and Kathleen Clark (Attorney – Ethics Consultant – Expert, Washington, DC) for a Professional Responsibility Lawyers in the Spotlight panel on Wednesday, May 28th at 3:20pm. This conference is preeminent educational and networking opportunity in the field of ethics and professional responsibility. Leading experts, scholars and practitioners from across the country will address trends and developments in legal ethics, professional discipline, professionalism and practice issues.
February 21, 2020
PSU Ethics Case Brings Conduct Rules’ Clarity Into Question
Whether an impaired attorney is in your firm, beside you as co-counsel on a case, or even opposing you in a matter, your awareness of that impairment implicates several of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
You can also find this article, as published, here. And also on my LawBlog, here.
November 22, 2019
Ellen Brotman Moderates Ethics Panel for the PBI Business Law Institute, Philadelphia, PA
On November, 22, Ellen Brotman of BrotmanLaw moderated an ethics panel for the PBI Business Law Institute with co-panelists Abe Reich, Partner and Chair Emeritus of Fox Rothschild, and Tom Wilkinson, Partner at Cozen O’Connor and past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA). The panel discussed various ethics issues faced by in-house counsel and commercial litigators including new precedents from the Pennsylvania courts on attorney-client privilege and work-product issues. All three presenters practice extensively in the area of professional responsibility and ethics and Brotman also represents white-collar defendants in federal and state courts.
November 1, 2019
BrotmanLaw Included in U.S. News and Best Lawyers Release of 2020 “Best Law Firms” Awards
BrotmanLaw has been named a “Best Law Firm” for 2020 by U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers. The firm was recognized in the Regional Rankings for Metro Philadelphia, Tier 3 in the two practice categories of Criminal Defense, White-Collar and Criminal Defense, General Practice.
WBENC certification validates that a business is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, operated and managed by a woman or women. Our world-class certification standard is accepted by more than 1,000 corporations representing America’s most prestigious brands, in addition to many states, cities and government entities. WBENC is the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. and a leading advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs.
BrotmanLaw is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation’s largest third-party certifier of the businesses owned and operated by women in the U.S. We recognize the commitment to supplier diversity that is embraced by corporations and government agencies today and we can add diversity to your supply chain.
October 25, 2019
Ellen C. Brotman Participates on Panel at NACDL Annual White Collar Crime Conference, Washington, D.C.
On October 25th, Ellen C. Brotman of BrotmanLaw participated in a panel entitled Let’s Be Careful Out There: Changing Ethics for Criminal Defense Lawyers at the NACDL Annual White Collar Crime Conference in Washington, D.C. The panel discussed ethics issues in the Varsity Blues prosecutions and other recent cases. The panel was moderated by William (Bill) W. Taylor, III, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP (Washington, DC) and also included Kathleen Clark, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (St. Louis, MO); Michael Frisch, Georgetown University Law Center (Washington, DC); Michael Heiskell, Johnson, Vaughn & Heiskell (Fort Worth, TX). Ms. Brotman practices in the fields of professional responsibility and ethics and white collar criminal defense.
This meeting featured a conversation on leadership, enforcement trends, and taking on the big fights, moderated by @Laurel Gift of @Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP. @Jessica Natali introduced her friend Josh Shapiro and Ellen C. Brotman was honored to introduce her friend Kathy Jennings. Ms. Jennings and Mr. Shapiro also discussed the challenge of criminal justice reform and the growing role of state AGs in protecting civil and economic rights.
The Women’s White Collar Defense Association is a coalition of women attorneys and other professionals with relevant expertise who specialize in white collar criminal defense and government investigations. Our practices focus on a range of issues including antitrust actions, complex commercial litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues, government contracting, healthcare fraud and abuse, insider trading, securities litigation, qui tam and whistleblower cases, and more.
The Women’s White Collar Defense Association is a coalition of women attorneys and other professionals with relevant expertise who specialize in white collar criminal defense and government investigations. Our practices focus on a range of issues including antitrust actions, complex commercial litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues, government contracting, healthcare fraud and abuse, insider trading, securities litigation, qui tam and whistleblower cases, and more.
This event featured great networking, great fun and great food!
August 22, 2019
What led to Ponzi schemer’s 22-year prison sentence
Philadelphia Business Journal – By Jeff Blumenthal
The Legal Intelligencer – Powered by LAW.COM – By Aleeza Furman
The Charles P. Gelso President’s Award Presented to Ellen C. Brotman
On April 26th, 2019 Philadelphia attorney, Ellen C. Brotman was honored to receive The Charles P. Gelso President’s Award from the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The President’s Award is presented to a PACDL member in special appreciation of outstanding contributions to the Association. The award recipient is chosen by the President. Ms. Brotman is a board member of PACDL and serves on the Publications, Amicus, and Lawyers’ Assistance Committee. She is also co-chair of PACDL’s CLE Committee. This past year, Ms. Brotman drafted two resolutions for the Board: one condemning the treatment of immigrants at our southern border, and one reaffirming the Board’s commitment to the Association’s core value of diversity in membership, programming and advocacy. She also co-authored PACDL’s amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the death penalty case of Commonwealth v. Parrish with Philadelphia lawyer and Common Pleas Court candidate, Henry J. Sias. Ms. Brotman is the Founder and owner of BrotmanLaw; her practice focuses on professional responsibility, ethics and criminal defense.
The Third Circuit in a precedential opinion Friday ruled that a Pennsylvania federal judge overstepped her bounds in voiding all cash advance agreements between class members in the NFL’s landmark 2015 concussion suit and litigation funding companies, handing a victory to the funding companies’ attorneys at Fox Rothschild LLP, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, BrotmanLaw and Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young. RD Legal is represented by David K. Willingham, Michael D. Roth and Jeffrey M. Hammer of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and Ellen C. Brotman of BrotmanLaw.
BrotmanLaw was proud to participate in a recent win in the Third Circuit with Boies Schiller Flexner LLP in a fascinating case relating to the authority of district court judges in class action suits.
Ellen C Brotman of BrotmanLaw attended the 2019 WWCDA Annual Attorney Meeting which was a big success! More than 200 members from the U.S. and multiple other countries attended the day and a half event. The Windsor Court Hotel provided a beautiful backdrop to the meeting and the Mardi Gras festivities were an extra bonus.
The plenary session kicked off with members of the WWCDA leadership describing the organization’s accomplishments over the past year as well as previewing the exciting upcoming events for 2019, such as the First Annual Awards Gala Dinner scheduled for December 3, 2019 in the Washington, DC area.
Following the business meeting, the members learned business development and networking tips from Debra Baker, Managing Director of GrowthPlay. The day ended with the always-popular networking cocktail reception and dinner. Deborah Harris, Chief of the Environmental Crimes Division at the Department of Justice was the dinner speaker. She provided an informative update on the initiatives and current policies of the department.
The meeting concluded on Wednesday morning with a lively and thought-provoking panel discussion with U.S. District Court Judge Jane Margaret Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Madeleine Landrieu, Dean of the Loyola School of New Orleans School of Law, P.K. Scheerle, CEO/Chair of the Board of GIFTED Healthcare, and Lisa Diaz, Associate General Counsel of Litigation, Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement at Northern Trust.
The attendees left with new skills, new friends, and goals for the upcoming year. The next Annual Meeting will be in San Diego, CA on March 10-11, 2020.
Their presentation, titled “Stay in Your Lane: Ethics Hypos for the Criminal Defense Lawyer,” focused on a variety of timely hypothetical situations implicating several key professional conduct issues including the duty of confidentiality, third party payment arrangements and advice on how to effectively handle issues arising from joint defense agreements.
Ellen C. Brotman and Michael J. Engle, Esq. presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Their presentation was titled “Criminal Defense and Ethics – There’s A Rule For That”.
Michael J. Engle is Chair, White-Collar Defense, Internal Investigations & Corporate Compliance at Stradley Ronon.
December 12, 2018
People in the News
The Legal Intelligencer – Powered by LAW.COM – By Alexa Woronowicz
Ellen C. Brotman and Margaret Cassidy presented at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute Business Law Institute. Their topic was “Managing Government and Internal Investigations.”
Brotman is founder and owner of BrotmanLaw. Her practice focuses on the areas of professional responsibility and ethics, criminal defense, and appellate advocacy.
She has defended a variety of high-profile criminal cases, including political and public corruption, securities fraud, tax fraud, money laundering, currency structuring and other white-collar crimes involving complex trial, sentencing and appellate issues.
Cassidy is the founder and owner of Cassidy Law. Cassidy advises businesses on ethics and compliance requirements and represents businesses and individuals facing civil or criminal investigations or audits when working with the federal government or doing business internationally.
What is a JDA? What protections does it provide to its members? What Rules of Professional Conduct govern it? How is the JDA affected by the subsequent cooperation of one of its members?
You can find this article, as published, here. And also on my LawBlog, here.
June 18, 2018
People in the News – BrotmanLaw
The Legal Intelligencer – Powered by LAW.COM – By Victoria Hudgins
Ellen C. Brotman of BrotmanLaw participated in a panel at a Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board training for hearing committee members on June 7. Brotman and her co-panelist, Raymond Wierciszewski, chief counsel for District II of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, presented on the topic of “Aggravation and Mitigation in Attorney Discipline.” Brotman’s practice focuses on the areas of criminal defense, appellate advocacy and professional responsibility and ethics.
BrotmanLaw is certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the nation’s largest third-party certifier of the businesses owned and operated by women in the U.S. We recognize the commitment to supplier diversity that is embraced by corporations and government agencies today and we can add diversity to your supply chain.
