Thomas J. Ellis - Chicago, IL

Education

• Legal Education

  • University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois
    Juris Doctor, Concentration: Trial Advocacy & Dispute Resolution
    Honors: magna cum laude
    Honors: Law Review, Moot Court
    Honors: Academic Recognitions: Irving & June Brott Scholar, Dean’s Scholar and UIC Law Community Legal Clinics Scholarship recipient
    Honors: CALI Award for Advanced Trial Advocacy; Best Petitioner Brief in the Burton D. Wechsler First Amendment Moot Court Competition

• Non Legal Education

  • University of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona
    Bachelor of Science
    Honors: High Honors
    Major: Management

Pro Bono Activities

• Life Trustee, former Trustee (2005-2020) and former Board Chair (2008-2020), Roycemore School, Evanston, IL
• Trustee and Vice-President (2024-25), Thomas Jefferson School, Sunset Hills, MO
• UIC Law Pro Bono Litigation Clinic (as Rule 711 student attorney), including two appeals to the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, and an executive clemency hearing before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board

Published Works

Articles

• Thomas J. Ellis, The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of the Alien Tort Statute, 57 UIC L. REV. 863 (2024)
  
• “From Near Death Experience to Vitality: Seven Steps to School Turnaround Success,” Adrianne Finley Odell and Thomas J. Ellis, National Association of Independent Schools Annual Conference, St. Louis, MO, February 2024.
  

Bar Admissions

• Illinois
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois
• Missouri

Other Affiliations

• American Bar Association
• Illinois State Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• Lawyer Pilot Bar Association (Associate Member)
• Flight Safety Foundation (Member)
• American Constitution Society
• American Association for Justice (AAJ) (Member)
• Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) (Member)