Meet WSTA’s Legal Team
Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn – Attorneys at Law
Representing WSTA Legally & Legislatively Since 2002
Brooks Ellison is the managing partner of Ellison Wilson Advocacy and was admitted into the California Bar in 1986.
Led by experienced attorneys Brooks Ellison, Pat Whalen and Kirk Blackburn, the law firm of Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn – Attorneys at Law have protected the rights of our clients throughout the federal and state court systems and administrative agencies, notably winning several key, precedential legal victories for our clients. Having also served as long-time General Counsel for several clients, we are seasoned in providing sophisticated analysis and advice on sensitive legal matters for non- and for-profit corporations and individuals on both short-term unexpected issues and long-term strategic goals.
Collectively our attorneys have over 70 years of legal experience and have handled thousands of civil litigation cases, including serving as lead counsel in more than one
Pat Whalen was admitted into the California Bar in 1994, and was formerly with the California Attorney General’s Office. He is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
hundred appellate cases before the California Courts of Appeals and extensive trial practice. Further, our attorneys have argued cases before the California Supreme Court and appellate cases in front of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Additionally, Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn understands that many of its clients want to stay out of court and thus, has developed an extensive transactional practice to preemptively protect the interests of our clients in t
heir interactions with competitors, employees, regulators, and other public entities. This includes drafting and negotiating contracts, forming legal entities and corporations, advising on general governance, commercial and compliance matters, developing personnel policies, as well as counseling our clients on real estate, regulatory, intellectual property and licensing matters, amongst many others.
Kirk Blackburn was admitted into the California Bar in 2006 and joined our legal team in 2007.
In addition to the history of successes in the courtroom and boardroom, our attorneys have also successfully represented our clients at the California’s State Capitol as legislative and regulatory advocates through their sister firm, Ellison Wilson Advocacy, LLC since 1980. Being at the epicenter of the convergence of all three branches of government allows us to see issues from multiple perspectives and attack those issues on multiple fronts.
Notably, we have served as long-time General Counsel and lobbyists for the Western States Trucking Association (WSTA) and have been at the forefront of many of its legal and legislative battles, including filing a lawsuit and negotiating with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) over its Truck and Bus Rule, fighting for the owner-operator business model that the trucking industry has been successfully utilizing for decades, statutorily securing a broker bond, as well as a host of other key fights over prevailing wages, drug and alcohol testing, meal and rest periods, hours-of-service, and insurance requirements, to name a few.
Ellison, Whalen & Blackburn is located a block away from the State Capitol in Sacramento, yet handles cases and clients throughout California. Please contact us at (916) 448-2187 or attorneys@ellisonlawoffices.com for further information.
Editor’s Note: WSTA’s attorneys will make themselves available to our members for a discounted fee of $2,000 to make an evaluation of their vulnerability under the A-B-C test.
