Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani welcomes Ellen A. Brinkman to the firm's Minneapolis office. She joins the Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, Tort & Product Liability, and D&O and Shareholder Litigation practice groups.
Ms. Brinkman is a proven first-chair trial attorney who has tried cases for companies of all sizes. She has been recognized by numerous national and local organizations for her trial skills, ethics, and expertise as an employment and business trial lawyer. In April 2021, she was named to Minnesota Lawyer’s “The Power 30” Employment list, which recognizes 15 plaintiff and 15 defense lawyers whose “mere presence on a case signifies the stakes, who have influenced the direction of the law, whose leadership in the community is pervasive and whose respect within the bar is undeniable.” Ms. Brinkman has also been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers every year from 2011-2019, and as a Super Lawyer in 2021. She is also one of the youngest Minnesota attorneys named to Benchmark Litigation’s 2018 and 2019 Midwest Labor and Employment Stars.
Ms. Brinkman has been elected to multiple prestigious organizations by her peers for her trial skills, including the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and the International Association of Defense Counsel.
She represents a variety of clients from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, and approaches each case as a strategic team player with the goal of finding an efficient, business-oriented resolution. Ms. Brinkman has developed trusting partnerships with her clients, whether they are in-house counsel, human resource executives, organization leads, or business owners. She has litigated hundreds of cases in state and federal court – winning trials because of her ability to connect with the jury and out-prepare the other side.
She routinely defends various employment, shareholder, and education-related claims in the courtroom and in agency settings. She regularly represents employers seeking to enforce non-competition agreements and other postemployment restrictive covenants, and also defends against claims involving restrictive covenants.
She is admitted to practice in Minnesota, North Dakota, U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, and the U.S. District Court District of Nebraska.
Ms. Brinkman is a marathon runner (including running the Boston Marathon) and a former Division I college swimmer. She attended college at Miami University and graduated with honors from St. Olaf College, and with high honors from William Mitchell College of Law, where she was a National Moot Court finalist.