Ellen Crisham Pellegrini

ELLEN CRISHAM PELLEGRINI is a partner in the firm’s Regulatory Litigation practice, and represents clients in government-facing civil litigation before judicial and administrative tribunals. Ellen has represented clients in environmental, trade, pharmaceuticals, energy, land use, financial services, and other regulatory disputes.

Ellen also has extensive experience in the firm’s White Collar investigations and compliance practice. She represents clients before law enforcement and regulatory agencies, including the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and has significant experience advising clients regarding the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), economic sanctions, export control investigations, and related matters. Ellen has conducted numerous internal investigations across the globe. She also has a robust FCPA compliance counseling practice, and counsels clients on designing and implementing global compliance programs and conducts compliance risk assessments.

Prior to law school, Ellen spent two years in the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program, teaching middle school students in an under resourced Catholic school in Los Angeles and earning a Master’s Degree in Education.

Ellen’s current and recent representations include:

• Defending a multinational manufacturer in a BIS investigation involving allegations of fraud in export activities.
• Defending a Fortune 100 company in an OFAC investigation involving Iranian, Sudanese, and Syrian sanctions.
• Defending and obtaining a declination for a multinational public company in an SEC investigation arising from whistleblower allegations of possible FCPA violations in Kazakhstan.
• Defending a Fortune 100 company under investigation by Brazilian law enforcement involving allegations of anti-competitive and corrupt conduct.
• Chevron Mining Inv. v. United States (D. NM). Represent plaintiff Chevron in CERCLA allocation action, seeking apportionment to the United States of a share of clean-up costs relating to an open-pit Molybdenum mine in Questa, New Mexico.
• Ford v. United States (USCIT). Represent Plaintiff in challenge to Customs and Border Protection’s reclassification of Ford Transit Connect vehicles as vehicles principally designed for the transport of goods (dutiable at 25%) rather than vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (dutiable at 2.5%). Summary judgment awarded in Plaintiff’s favor.