WilmerHale
United States
Lawyers
Felicia Ellsworth
- Phone+ 1 617 526 6687
- Email[email protected]
- Social
Work Department
Anti-Discrimination; Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation; Class Actions; Constitutional Law and Preemption Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Higher Education; Energy, Environment and Natural Resources; Human Rights; Investigations; Litigation; Sports and Gaming; State Attorneys General; Trials
Position
- Partner
- Partner-in-Charge, Boston Office
- Vice Chair, Litigation/Controversy Department
Career
Felicia Ellsworth is a nationally renowned first-chair trial lawyer and appellate advocate who serves as vice chair of WilmerHale’s Litigation/Controversy Department, a member of the firm’s global Management Committee, and Partner-in-Charge of WilmerHale’s Boston Office.
Felicia has prevailed on behalf of clients in both state and federal courts at all stages of litigation, securing pivotal victories in the motion to dismiss or summary judgment phase, at trial, and on appeal. She has first-chaired numerous trials in state and federal court and argued multiple times in the appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States; the First, Second, and Sixth Circuits; and the Massachusetts Appeals and Supreme Judicial Court.
A repeat winner of The Am Law Litigation Daily’s Litigator of the Week, Felicia heads a dynamic practice handling complex matters involving administrative law, commercial law, constitutional law, the First Amendment, intellectual property, and real property. She is known for her strategic expertise and her track record representing clients in government-facing challenges, including high-stakes investigations and litigation launched by state Attorneys General.
In 2025, Felicia earned Litigator of the Week honors for her role in securing a defense verdict for The New York Times in a high-profile defamation case brought by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. In 2019, she earned the title for her part in achieving a district court victory for Harvard in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, a win she successfully defended in the First Circuit Court of Appeals prior to the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision striking down race-based affirmative action in college admissions.
Felicia regularly defends companies against allegations of consumer fraud, including in state Attorneys General investigations and litigations, as well as in consumer class actions. She recently led a team that secured victory for HMH Education Company and Greenwood Publishing Group in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in which plaintiffs, a putative class of tens of thousands of Massachusetts students, sought to hold authors and publishers of early childhood literacy curricula liable under consumer protection and products liability law for using a teaching approach with which they disagreed.
In 2025, Felicia was named to the Forbes Magazine inaugural list of best-in-state lawyers for Massachusetts. She is top ranked by Chambers for general commercial litigation and in 2024 and 2025 was named to the Legal 500 United States’ list of leading partners for general commercial disputes. For four consecutive years, she has been recognized on Boston Magazine’s list of Top Lawyers in the area of appellate litigation, and from 2023 to 2025 she was selected by her peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation.
A former law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts, Felicia has authored several merits briefs and numerous certiorari-stage briefs, as well as countless amicus briefs at both stages, in the Supreme Court of the United States. She has also authored successful briefs and dispositive motions before federal and state courts of appeals, including the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court and the US Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Federal Circuits.
As co-chair of the firm's Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, Felicia maintains a robust pro bono practice, including representing clients in constitutional cases, criminal appeals, immigration proceedings, and civil rights actions. In addition, Felicia is the co-host of WilmerHale’s In the Public Interest podcast, which welcomes interesting guests who share their unique perspectives on challenging issues and topics making headlines.
Felicia has been appointed by the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts to the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for the Massachusetts Court System and was previously a member of the Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure. She also serves as a member of the First Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Justice Act panel. Felicia is also a member of the Boston Bar Association’s Amicus Committee, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Amicus Advisory Board, and the Pioneer New England Legal Foundation’s Board of Advisors for Massachusetts. Felicia worked as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, where she prosecuted cases involving violent crimes, financial fraud, and many other offenses.
Felicia is a member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Teach for America of Massachusetts.
A native of the Boston area, Felicia also served as a law clerk to Judge Michael Boudin of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the University of Chicago Law School, where she was the editor-in-chief of The University of Chicago Law Review.