Ellie Nicoletta
Attorney
Ellie is a West Coast-based advocate dedicated to pursuing justice for those who have been harmed by systems of oppression and discrimination. Ellie was raised in Seattle by a high school English teacher and an animal activist who instilled in her the importance of personal responsibility and treating all beings with compassion. This led her to pursue an education in Animal Law at Lewis & Clark Law School, where she also developed her passion for civil rights.
While at law school, she successfully argued against a motion to dismiss by the USDA in a slaughterhouse deregulation case and wrote a clemency petition that freed an incarcerated youth. She served as the co-director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund student chapter and taught “street law” to local high school students. After finishing law school in Portland, she moved to Los Angeles where she gained experience working at a labor union protecting movie directors’ creative and financial rights, and later as a post-conviction criminal defense attorney where she vacated over forty legally invalid convictions for noncitizens and legal residents. At the heart of her practice is an ability to build trusting relationships through mutual understanding. She listens with empathy and is skilled at breaking down complex legal issues.
Ellie received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Analytic Philosophy and a minor in Spanish from Western Washington University.
Ellie is licensed to practice law in Washington, Oregon, and California.
In addition to work, Ellie loves trying out new recipes, making birthday and holiday cards for loved ones, and spending time outside with her fiancé and rescue dog, Maybe.
