Ellen Moran Dwyer
Overview
Corporate boards and client leaders trust Ellen to advise them in their most sensitive employment matters that generate significant risk for their organizations. Whether leading a high-profile sexual harassment investigation, litigating racial or gender equity issues, responding to activist shareholder demands, or advising on the myriad issues that impact her clients’ most productive talent, Ellen serves as a strategist and collaborative partner to her clients.
Career & Education
- St. Lawrence University, B.A., summa cum laude, 1982
- Cornell Law School, J.D., cum laude, 1985
- District of Columbia
- Massachusetts (Inactive)
Ellen's Insights
Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.20.24
On March 5, 2024, a federal judge in Texas struck down a federally-sponsored racial preference extended to minority groups seeking to access capital and government contracts. Nuziard v. Minority Business Development Agency (“Nuziard”). Plaintiffs, who are non-minority business owners, challenged a preference provided by the Minority Business Development Agency (“MBDA”), a bureau of the Department of Commerce, to “socially or economically disadvantaged individual[s],” defined to include African Americans, Hasidic Jews, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. The court struck down the MBDA’s presumption that such racial minorities are socially disadvantaged, finding the preference violated the Equal Protection Clause. Nuziard, like the recent decision by a federal court in Tennessee in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture (“Ultima”), follows the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Pres & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) (“SFFA”) and, like Ultima, advances the mission of activist organizations across the country seeking to invalidate race-based presumptions in federally funded and sponsored entitlement programs.
Client Alert | 12 min read | 03.04.24
Firm News | 3 min read | 02.20.24
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.07.23
Practices
Ellen's Insights
Client Alert | 4 min read | 03.20.24
On March 5, 2024, a federal judge in Texas struck down a federally-sponsored racial preference extended to minority groups seeking to access capital and government contracts. Nuziard v. Minority Business Development Agency (“Nuziard”). Plaintiffs, who are non-minority business owners, challenged a preference provided by the Minority Business Development Agency (“MBDA”), a bureau of the Department of Commerce, to “socially or economically disadvantaged individual[s],” defined to include African Americans, Hasidic Jews, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. The court struck down the MBDA’s presumption that such racial minorities are socially disadvantaged, finding the preference violated the Equal Protection Clause. Nuziard, like the recent decision by a federal court in Tennessee in Ultima Services Corp. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture (“Ultima”), follows the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Pres & Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023) (“SFFA”) and, like Ultima, advances the mission of activist organizations across the country seeking to invalidate race-based presumptions in federally funded and sponsored entitlement programs.
Client Alert | 12 min read | 03.04.24
Firm News | 3 min read | 02.20.24
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.07.23