Ellen Adler is an associate in the Litigation Department of Morrison & Foerster's San Diego office. Her experience includes product liability, aviation, patent and general litigation matters. Ms. Adler has tried five cases to verdict, argued before the California Court of Appeals, and defended numerous depositions in product liability and aviation matters. Her specialties include federal preemption, aviation treaty law and appellate brief writing in a variety of areas.

Ms. Adler was nominated by her peers as a “2008 Young Attorney,” a recognition sponsored by The San Diego Daily Transcript and based on an associate’s “work ethic and organization, knowledge and enthusiasm, professional ethics, and commitment to furthering the interest of justice in society.”

Prior to coming to Morrison & Foerster, Ms. Adler clerked for the Honorable Michael Daly Hawkins on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ms. Adler graduated Order of the Coif in 2004 from Stanford Law School, where she served as an Articles Editor on the Law Review. She was awarded the Hilmer Oehlmann, Jr. writing award for best moot court brief in her first year section. Ms. Adler received her B.A. degree in Spanish and Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001, where she graduated summa cum laude. While there, she competed at national mock trial tournaments and wrote a model honors senior thesis, Lawyers on Trial.

Ms. Adler is admitted to practice in California. She is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the United States District Courts for the Southern and Central Districts of California.

Representative Matters

Airline Liability Cases

• Ginena v. Alaska Airlines
• Alaska Airlines Flight 536 Depressurization Cases

Air Crash Litigation/Product Liability Cases

• Cessna 208 Caravan Litigation
• Polinger v. Delta Airlines, et al
• Grizzly Mountain Aviation v. McTurbine, et al
• Paullus v. McTurbine, et al
• Little v Piper Aircraft, et al
• In re: Air Crash of Flash Airlines Flight 604
• Airport Liability Cases
• In re: Palomar Crash of January 24, 2006
• Riedlin v. City of Hayward (Hayward Executive Airport)

Representative Publications

• Author, “President Bush Signs Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, Imposing Sweeping New Safety and Enforcement Standards for Children’s Products,” Morrison & Foerster Legal Update, August 20, 2008.
• Speaker, “Passenger Lawsuits in a Post 9/11 World: Immunity and Preemption Defenses All the Rage,” Presented with William O’Connor at the 33rd Annual Aviation Law and Insurance Seminar, King County, WA, September 2006.
• Co-author with William O’Connor, “Preemption On The Mind: Recent High Court Rulings,” Product Liability Law360, March 12, 2008.