Latosha M. Ellis

Latosha helps policyholders maximize insurance recoveries with sound advice and effective solutions. Latosha delivers comprehensive end-to-end counsel to help clients with all of their insurance coverage needs from policy procurement and analysis to claims resolution and payment to, if necessary, alternative dispute resolution or litigation. Although valued for her expertise in cyber risk and media liability, Latosha regularly advises and represents clients on all major forms of insurance coverage including:

• Professional and management liabilities under directors and officers (D&O) and errors and omissions (E&O) liability insurance policies;
• Employment liabilities under employment practices liability insurance policies;
• Liability claims made against administrators, employees, and staff members of both schools and colleges under educators legal liability insurance policies;
• Commercial liabilities, including business interruption, under commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policies; and
• Captive insurance.

• Audits insurance programs – including providing tailored advice and solutions to protect assets and reputation from cyber risks across many sectors, including hospitality, legal, retail, energy, financial services, higher education institutions, and professional sport teams.
• Serves as insurance coverage counsel for numerous cyber-related insurance claims arising out of social engineering and fraudulent transfer schemes, data breaches, cyber extortion, ransomware, and vendor/supplier cyber incidents.
• Regularly advises clients on additional insured, indemnity, and required insurance provisions in vendor contracts and represents clients in negotiations with counterparties.
• Serves as insurance coverage counsel to several higher education institutions for claims arising from lawsuits alleging legal liability.
• Secured coverage for fidelity and on premises liability claims under financial institution bond policies for several banks.
• Analyzed coverage for COVID-19 losses, such as business interruption and event cancellation, for various industries, including global private equity firm portfolio companies, financial institutions, retailers, and nonprofit organizations.
• Represented cedent in state and federal court disputes with facultative reinsurers over coverage for payments for underlying asbestos lawsuits, and involving follow-the-fortunes and follow-the-settlements doctrines, allocation disputes, and reinsurance limits disputes.
• Represented the interests of a large utility provider in an action to recover millions of dollars related to environmental cleanup from more than two dozen excess liability insurance carriers, and involving issues related to the expected or intended loss doctrine, coverage trigger, and allocation.

• Recommended for Insurance: Advice to Policyholders, Legal 500 United States, 2024
• Recognized as “One to Watch” for Commercial Litigation, Insurance Law and Product Liability Litigation–Defendants by The Best Lawyers in America, 2022-2024
• Named to the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyer, 2022
• Pro Bono Service Honor Roll, Virginia Access to Justice, 2022

• Named a Break Out Award Winner by Business Insurance, 2021

• Named among “Up and Coming Lawyers,” Virginia Lawyers Weekly, Class of 2020
• American Bar Foundation Fellow, 2020
• Top 40 Under 40 Lawyer in Washington, DC, The National Black Lawyers, 2019
• Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Pathfinder, 2019
• American Bar Association Section of Litigation Young Lawyer Leadership Program, 2017-2019
• Significant Service Award, Virginia State Bar’s Young Lawyers Conference, 2016 and 2017

• Member of the Board of Directors, Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia, 2023-present; Treasurer, 2022-2023; Treasurer-Elect, 2021-2022; Secretary, 2020-2021
• Co-Host, ABA Section of Litigation, Audio Content Committee, Legal Talk Network Litigation Radio Podcast
• Member, District of Columbia Bar, CLE Planning Committee
• Co-Chair, 2021 CLE Seminar, ABA Section of Litigation, Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee (2020-2021); Co-Vice Chair 2020 CLE Seminar (2019-2020)
• Member, ABA Section of Litigation, Virtual Programming Committee (2021-2022); Professional Development Committee (2020-2021)