Ellen Brotman

Ellen Brotman is the founder of BrotmanLaw PLLC, with offices in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. An attorney with more than 30 years in practice, she represents attorneys in disciplinary, licensure, and reinstatement matters and counsels lawyers and law firms on legal ethics and professional responsibility. For more than 20 years, she has represented hundreds of clients in matters before the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board, the Pennsylvania Lawyers’ Client Security Fund, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Prior to starting BrotmanLaw, Ellen was a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, where she defended criminal cases in federal courts, oversaw investigations, and represented professionals in state disciplinary proceedings. From 1995 to 1998, as an assistant federal defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Ellen provided criminal defense for indigent clients in federal court at the trial and appellate levels. Before coming to Philadelphia, she served as a law clerk to The Honorable Lee P. Gagliardi, United States District Court Judge, Southern District of New York.

Ellen is a frequent writer and speaker on attorney discipline, legal ethics, and professional responsibility. She has written the “Professional Conduct” column in The Legal Intelligencer for more than ten years and authors an “Ethics Corner” for the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ online journal, For the Defense. From 2024 to 2026, she served as Special Advisor to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility.

Ellen is a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2012–2015) and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, where she serves on the Publications Committee and the Lawyers Assistance Committee. She also serves on the Professional Guidance Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Ellen Brotman’s recognitions include:

• The Best Lawyers in America® — recognized in every edition from 2007 through 2027 (Philadelphia, PA):

  ◦ Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law (first awarded 2027)

  ◦ Criminal Defense: General Practice (since 2007)

  ◦ Criminal Defense: White-Collar (since 2019)

  ◦ Appellate Practice (since 2025)

• Best Law Firms® — U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers® (2019–2023)
• Super Lawyers® (2008–2026)
• Top 50 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers® (2023, 2025, 2026)
• Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Recognition Award (2026)
• The Charles P. Gelso President’s Award — Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (2019)
• The Legal Intelligencer’s Women of the Year (2014)

Ellen is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and New York, as well as before the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Read Ellen Brotman’s blog here.

See Ellen Brotman’s LinkedIn profile here.

See Ellen Brotman’s publications here.

See Ellen Brotman’s presentations here.