Tiffanie A. Ellis

Associate

Tiffanie Ellis (she/her) is detail oriented in her work and is passionate about assisting clients in matters ranging from surface and groundwater rights to land use litigation and due diligence.

Tiffanie has assisted in the successful defense of public agency CEQA compliance and brings insight on NEPA compliance from her experience at the Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor. Prior to joining Downey Brand, Tiffanie worked at the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, in Seattle, Washington, where she spent two years gaining excellent oral and written communication skills. Most importantly, however, Tiffanie’s experience at the Court of Appeals provided in-depth insight into what makes litigation successful and what can set litigation back. She brings this knowledge into and adapts it for consideration and use in every piece of work she does for a client, whether it be an informal letter or a litigation brief. Tiffanie has assisted in litigation, administrative proceedings, and general counsel work for numerous agencies across the state since coming to Downey Brand in 2021. Tiffanie is barred in Washington State to better serve our clients up and down the West Coast.

Professional, Community And Pro Bono Involvement

  • Washington Bar Association, Land Use and Environment Section
  • The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, Pro Bono Society, Member
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, OUTLAW, Treasurer, 2017-2018
  • Hastings Law Journal, Senior Technology Editor, 2018-2019; Staff Editor, 2017-2018
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, Administrative Law Research Assistant to Professor Jodi Short, PHD, 2017-2019
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, Environmental Law Research Assistant to Professor David Takacs, PHD, 2017

Honors & Rankings

  • Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Lori K. Smith, Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, 2019-2021
  • Extern to Senior Judge, United States District Court, Western District of California, San Francisco, Fall 2018
  • Dean’s Scholar, UC Hastings College of the Law, 2016-2019
  • Witkin Award for Academic Excellence and the Highest Grade in Administrative Law, 2017
  • CALI Award for Highest Grade in Legal Writing and Research, 2016, and Administrative Law, 2017
  • Best Moot Brief, 2017
  • Dean’s List, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2013-2014

Speaking Engagements / Events

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Blogs

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Legal Alerts

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Publications

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Tiffanie is originally from Denver, Colorado. There, her family instilled in her a fierce love of nature and a deep appreciation for hard work. Tiffanie is a first-generation lawyer in a family of engineers and blue-collar workers, and the first family member to leave her Colorado roots. She loves hiking, snowshoeing, and camping, and is happiest in the snowy mountains with a good book, her partner, and their rescue pups. Tiffanie first became interested in water rights following a water rights dispute with the federal government on her family’s property in the Rocky Mountains. As a consequence, she recognizes how important property rights—whether water related or not—are.

Professional, Community And Pro Bono Involvement

  • Washington Bar Association, Land Use and Environment Section
  • The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, Pro Bono Society, Member
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, OUTLAW, Treasurer, 2017-2018
  • Hastings Law Journal, Senior Technology Editor, 2018-2019; Staff Editor, 2017-2018
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, Administrative Law Research Assistant to Professor Jodi Short, PHD, 2017-2019
  • UC Hastings College of the Law, Environmental Law Research Assistant to Professor David Takacs, PHD, 2017

Honors & Rankings

  • Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Lori K. Smith, Washington State Court of Appeals, Division I, 2019-2021
  • Extern to Senior Judge, United States District Court, Western District of California, San Francisco, Fall 2018
  • Dean’s Scholar, UC Hastings College of the Law, 2016-2019
  • Witkin Award for Academic Excellence and the Highest Grade in Administrative Law, 2017
  • CALI Award for Highest Grade in Legal Writing and Research, 2016, and Administrative Law, 2017
  • Best Moot Brief, 2017
  • Dean’s List, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2013-2014