Ellen A. Pansky
Ms. Pansky joined Nemecek & Cole in January 2025. Prior to joining Nemecek & Cole, Ms. Pansky was the founder of Pansky Markle Attorneys at Law in South Pasadena, specializing in State Bar disciplinary defense and Bar admissions, legal ethics consultations, professional liability litigation and expert testimony. Ms. Pansky is a California State Bar Certified Legal Malpractice Specialist. Ms. Pansky has had extensive experience before the State Bar Court, and State Superior Courts, and has been admitted to practice before several districts of the U.S. District Court.
Ms. Pansky graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1974 and received her J.D. degree from Loyola University School of Law in Los Angeles in 1977. She has been rated a “preeminent lawyer” by Martindale Hubble, selected a “Best Lawyer in America,” a Los Angeles Times “Best Lawyer,” as a “Southern California Super Lawyer,” a Los Angeles Daily Journal “Top Litigator,” and a Pasadena “Top Lawyer.”
Professional Activities
Ms. Pansky is active in the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers (President, 1996), which awarded her the prestigious Charles W. Kettlewell Legal Ethics Advisor Award in 2016. Ms. Pansky served as President of the National Association of Women Lawyers (2003). She is an inaugural member of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility, and she served as a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. She also was a member of the Editorial Board of the ABA/BNA Lawyers Manual on Professional Conduct (2004- 2007). She is a member of the United States District Court, Central District, Standing Committee on Discipline (2008-present). Ms. Pansky served as an Assistant Vice President of the Los Angeles County Bar Association Board of Trustees and is a longstanding member of the L.A.C.B.A Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee (chair 1996-97).
Publications / Speaking Engagements
- “Fighting Fair: Addressing the Rise of Incivility in the Practice of Entertainment Law,” Institute on Entertainment Law and Business at USC Gould School of Law, October 19, 2024
- “Make Like a Banana and Split Counsel!” ABA Fall 2024 National Legal Malpractice Conference in Vancouver, September 20, 2024
- “Trust Accounts, Reporting Requirements and Referral Fees”, Santa Clara Chapter of CAAA program, May 8, 2024
- “When a lawyer’s personal interests give rise to a conflict,” Daily Journal’s 2024 Top Professional Responsibility Lawyers supplement, February 2024
- “Ethics: The State Bar Rules You Need to Know”, section “Rule 8.3: Duty to Report Professional Misconduct & Consequences of Failing To Do So”, CAAA 2024 Winter Convention, January 28, 2024
- Entertainment Ethics and Malpractice Panel: “The Ethics Factor” with Neville Johnson and Marshall Cole, Beverly Hills Bar Association, January 2024
- “Entertainment Ethics and Malpractice” seminar with Marshall Cole, moderated by Neville Johnson for the Beverly Hills Bar Association, July 27, 2023
- “Alternatives to Discipline,” ABA National Conference on Professional Responsibility, New Orleans, June 2, 2023
- “Hello? Can You Hear Me? Effective Communications with Clients, Opposing Counsel and the Court“, Riverside Lawyer magazine, May 2023
- “Ethics Perspectives on the Girardi Affair,“ COPRAC, April 21, 2023
- “Safeguarding Confidences and Avoiding Malpractice Liability”, Los Angeles Daily Journal Supplement, March 2023
- Beverly Hills Bar Association’s 2022 “Entertainment Year-in-Review: Ethics and Malpractice Issues” with Marshall Cole and Neville Johnson
- “The Ethics Factor: Entertainment Malpractice and State Bar Issues” seminar with Marshall Cole and Neville Johnson for the 2022 Institute on Entertainment Law and Business
- “Entertainment Year in Review: Ethics in the Entertainment Industry” seminar with Marshall Cole and Neville Johnson for the 2021 Beverly Hills Bar Association year in review.