Ellen devotes all of her professional time to elder law and special needs law transactions and litigation, including guardianship litigation, fiduciary litigation, will contests, and nursing home residents’ rights litigation, as well as wills, trusts, and advance directives, Medicaid and disability planning, including preparation of applicable trusts, asset preservation planning, and estate and trust administration.
Prior to joining the firm, Ellen was the founding partner of the law firm Elder Law Associates PA. She began her career as an assistant state attorney for Miami-Dade County, Florida, under the direction of State Attorney Janet Reno.
Currently, Ellen is the co-chair of the Joint Public Policy Task Force of the Elder Law Section of The Florida Bar and the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys (AFELA) for the Elderly and Disabled. Previously, she was the chairperson of the Elder Law Section of the Florida Bar, the legislative chairperson of the Elder Law Section for six years and held every executive council position as well as many committee chair positions. She also served as co-chair of the Elder Law Section of the South Palm Beach County Bar Association. In all these roles, Ellen participates in elder law and special needs law-related legislative initiatives, devoting much of her time to analyzing new laws and regulations affecting seniors, people with disabilities, and their families who require government services and protection.
Ellen has also been involved with the Alzheimer’s Association, Southeast Florida Chapter, SOS Children’s Village, Jewish Family Services of Broward and Palm Beach counties, the Florida State Guardianship Association, and Junior Achievement. She is a Washington Club and Congressional Club member of AIPAC and on the executive committee of AIPAC of South Florida. She frequently lectures on elder law and special needs’ topics. Ellen was an instructor for Florida Atlantic University’s Lifelong Learning Society (LLS). She has been featured in the Palm Beach Post’s “Moving Up” section for her developing elder law and special needs practice, and has been quoted in the Palm Beach Post, Wealth (Reuters), the Sun-Sentinel, and ABC News online. She has authored numerous articles for a variety of publications, including an article for The Elder Law Advocate titled, “4th DCA Affirms a finding of undue as a reason to invalidate advance directives.”
Ellen has consistently been named to Florida Trend Magazine’s Florida Legal Elite since 2007 and named as a Top Lawyer by the South Florida Legal Guide. Ellen has been selected by her peers as a Florida Super Lawyer since 2009 and has also been recognized as a Palm Beach Illustrated Top Attorney in Palm Beach & Martin counties. She was also the 2008 “Member of the Year” for the Florida Bar Elder Law Section and has an AV-Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Ellen earned both her bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Florida.