Ethics Potpourri 2026

Ellen Brotman is the founder of BrotmanLaw in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., focusing her practice on legal ethics and professional responsibility. Ellen defends lawyers in licensure issues and provides ethics opinions to attorneys in public and private practice on a wide range of ethics issues. From 1995 to 1998, Ellen served as an assistant federal defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia and is currently a member of the board of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ellen serves on the ABA’s Standing Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility and the PBA’s Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. She has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers since 2008; in 2025 and 2026 she was named one of the top 50 Women Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania.

Amy Coco is a shareholder at the Pittsburgh law firm of DiBella Weinheimer, where she has focused her practice on Professional Responsibility for more than 30 years. She represents lawyers, judges, and law students in matters involving ethics, licensure, professional responsibility, risk management, and law practice management counseling. Amy is the current President of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) and previously served six years on its Board of Governors. Within the ACBA, she has chaired the Nominating Committee and By-Laws Committee, the Professional Ethics Committee (where she continues to serve as a Duty Officer), and the Lawyers Insurance Committee. She has also served on the Council of the Solo and Small Firm Section and chaired subcommittees within the Women in the Law Division. At the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), Amy is Co-Chair of the Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. She served as the PBA’s Woman At Large Governor (2021–2024) and chaired its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Team from 2022 to 2024. She is also the Director of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Incubator Program, mentoring lawyers as they establish solo practices. In addition, she is a member of the Washington County, Philadelphia County Bar Associations, as well as the American Bar Association and its Center for Professional Responsibility and the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (APRL). A frequent lecturer and writer on professional liability, diversity and inclusion, and ethics issues, Amy has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law since 2024 and has been named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer annually since 2018. In 2022, she was recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s Top 50 Lawyers. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1994, and her B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University Bloomington in 1989.

Jennifer Ellis is an attorney licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania and the principal of Jennifer Ellis, JD, LLC, a law practice management and technology consulting firm. Her legal practice focuses on ethics, and her consulting work assists lawyers and legal organizations with technology selection, implementation, and risk management, including cybersecurity and the practical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice.
Jennifer has extensive experience in legal education and professional development and has worked closely with bar associations and continuing legal education providers on the development and presentation of programs for lawyers at all stages of practice. She regularly speaks and writes on legal ethics, law practice management, and emerging technology issues, with an emphasis on helping lawyers evaluate new tools realistically and responsibly. Her work emphasizes clarity, accuracy, and ethical judgment, particularly where law and technology intersect. Find Jennifer online at jlellis.net.

Ellen serves as the Law Practice Management Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Bar Association. In that capacity she assists PBA’s members with management issues and decisions on the business side of their practice, including areas like technology, financial management and profitability, human resources, marketing, risk management, setting up a practice and so forth. PBA members are encouraged to contact Ellen through the 800 “Hot Line” at PBA headquarters, (800-932-0311 x2228) or through email ([email protected]). Ellen is founder and President of Freedman Consulting, which assists PA law firms with a full range of issues and projects on the business side of the practice. More information about Ellen and her law practice management services may be obtained at http:www.FreedmanLPM.com. Ellen holds the designation of Certified Legal Manager through the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), the credentialing body for the CLM degree. Of the 11,000+ members of the ALA, approximately 300 are certified legal managers. Ellen was one of the first 20 in the nation to have achieved this designation. She holds a Certification in Computer Programming from Maxwell Institute, and a Certification in Web Site Design and a B.A. from Temple University. Ellen was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management in October 2020. Membership in the College is by invitation only. Eligible nominees include those who have made significant contributions to the field of law practice management for over ten years. Since its establishment over twenty years ago, nearly 300 practitioners from 5 different countries have become Fellows of the College. Ellen managed inside law firms for twenty years. Most of that time was spent in a midsize (35+ attorney) firm environment. She launched her consulting practice in 1998 and joined the Pennsylvania Bar Association in 1999. She was a member of the Association of Legal Administrators for over 20 years and founded the Independence Chapter. She is a frequent author and speaker on law firm management issues on a national level.