Ellisen Shelton Turner, P.C.
Overview
Ellisen Turner is a partner in the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Ellisen serves as lead trial counsel on major patent and trade secret matters. He is also an IP strategist who combines his business acumen with a deep understanding of IP law and policy to evaluate and maximize the value of technology during transactions for leading public companies and premier private equity sponsors. A seasoned negotiator as well, he has closed numerous, highly complex patent licenses and technology transactions.
Ellisen has been recognized as one of the World’s Leading Patent Professionals by Intellectual Asset Magazine, and as the “Patent Litigation Lawyer of the Year” by the Century City Bar Association. Chambers-rated in Intellectual Property, and recognized among The Best Lawyers in America, Ellisen’s successes have garnered him numerous accolades, including being named one of the 500 “Most Influential People” in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
With a background in computer engineering, computer science and biomedical engineering, Ellisen is known for his sophisticated understanding of the high-tech and life sciences sectors. Ellisen helps clients develop strategies to successfully monetize their technologies, enhancing the value of both tangible and intellectual assets. These matters — which can involve a single patent or as many as tens of thousands of assets — include intellectual property transactions and license negotiations, as well as intellectual property due diligence in connection with mergers, acquisitions and asset purchases.
Clients rely on Ellisen both for his track record of success and for the enormous creativity he brings to each matter. Through his holistic approach, he takes the time to understand his clients’ business plans, short-term objectives and long-term definitions of success. Armed with this knowledge, he crafts successful, often groundbreaking, legal strategies that meet clients’ critical business goals.
Ellisen is deeply involved in the Los Angeles community and in national legal organizations. He has served as the vice-chair of the Central District of California’s Judicial Merit Selection Panel, on the California Governor’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee and on the board of the Federal Bar Association’s Los Angeles Chapter. He has also served as the chair and a board member of the Intellectual Property Section of the National Bar Association (NBA). Ellisen founded the NBA’s annual Diversity in Tech Awards, which recognize leaders for fostering diversity and inclusion in the STEM and intellectual property fields. Known as a thought leader on diversity in the legal and STEM fields, he has co-chaired the University of Michigan Law School’s Advisory Board on Race and Racism and the Kirkland & Ellis Firmwide Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. In 2019, Ellisen was honored with the California Minority Counsel Program Law Firm Diversity Leader Award, which recognizes an individual who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. One of the few Black lawyers to have led a major firm, Ellisen is also the former managing partner of another American Lawyer A-List firm that regularly made the Am Law 100 law.
Frequently invited as a speaker on patent law, Ellisen has presented on patent litigation and patent damages at the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) and other intellectual property conferences. He has been an associate columnist for the National Law Journal and has co-authored several papers and presentations regarding patent law and practice topics, including forum selection in patent infringement litigation, claim construction hearing practice and pre-litigation investigations.
Ellisen’s strong knowledge of the technology sector is informed by his early professional experience in private industry. Before attending law school, he worked as a software engineer at AlliedSignal Aerospace (now Honeywell International Inc.), Hewlett-Packard and IBM's Silicon Valley Laboratory and as a manufacturing execution system and database design consultant.
In his spare time, Ellisen enjoys boxing, writing, sketching and bicycling.