Ellen Ostrow is a partner and litigation attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP. She focuses her practice on restructuring and bankruptcy, serving as a strategic advisor to clients to help them practically resolve their insolvency and creditors’ rights disputes.
Ellen has extensive experience representing multiple unsecured creditors’ committees in the bankruptcies of manufacturers, event operators, restaurants, and health food suppliers, Chapter 11 debtors in bankruptcies in the entertainment, mining, and housing industries, Receivers in state and federal courts, and Chapter 15 foreign representatives. Additionally, Ellen has experience advising purchasers of distressed assets, debtor-in-possession financiers, and various creditors, including secured lenders and major power purchase agreement creditors in energy industry bankruptcies and suppliers in large retail bankruptcies.
Ellen has successfully represented clients in complex litigation in state and federal courts, including fraudulent transfers, voidable transactions, receivership, and Uniform Commercial Code disputes.
Prior to joining the Firm, Ellen served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable William T. Thurman of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah.
Representative Experience
- Creditors’ Committee in Meridian Restaurants Unlimited, LC (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Creditors’ Committee in Gissing North America, LLC chapter 11 case (Bankr. E.D. Mich.)
- Creditors’ Committee in Noah Corporation chapter 11 case (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Creditors’ Committee in LuMee, LLC chapter 11 case (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Creditors’ Committee in Sorenson Media Inc. chapter 11 case (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Creditors’ Committee in Food for Health International, Inc. chapter 11 case (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Creditors’ Committee in The Falls Event Center, LLC chapter 11 case (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Creditors’ Committee in Mountain Crane, LLC chapter 11 case (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Chapter 11 debtor in iron ore mining industry (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Chapter 11 debtor in amusement/waterpark industry (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Chapter 11 debtor in housing industry (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Chapter 11 debtor in modular homes industry (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Defense of involuntary chapter 11 debtor in mining industry (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Purchaser of over 22,000 acres of agricultural land in chapter 11 bankruptcy (Bankr. E.D. Wash.)
- Purchaser of intellectual property in chapter 7 bankruptcy (Bankr. S.D. Cal.)
- Purchaser of substantially all of debtors’ assets in chapter 7 bankruptcy (Bankr. D. Nev.)
- State Court receiver of biotech company (Utah)
- State Court receiver of online educational retailer (Utah)
- Chapter 7 trustee in retail chapter 7 bankruptcy (Bankr. D. Utah)
- Foreign Representatives in chapter 15 case (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.)
Awards and Recognition
- Selected by Utah Business Magazine as Legal Elite (2024)
- 40 Under 40, Utah Business, 2022
- 40 Under 40, American Bankruptcy Institute, 2020
- 40 Under Forty, National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) and Consultants’ Training Institute (CTI)
- Utah Legal Elite, Up and Coming, Utah Business, 2018, 2021
- Utah State Bar, 2022 Attorney of the Year, Pro Bono Bankruptcy Project
- Utah State Bar, 2021 Attorney of the Year, Pro Bono Bankruptcy Project
- Utah State Bar, 2018 Attorney of the Year, Pro Bono Bankruptcy Project
Affiliations
- Trustee and Secretary, Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers Forum
- American Bankruptcy Institute, Co-Chair of Rocky Mountain ABI Conference
- Women Lawyers of Utah
- Utah State Bar, Litigation Section
- United States Securities & Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement, Washington, D.C., Summer Honors Program, 2012
- Volunteer, Peace Corps, Guatemala, 2008–2010
Presentations and Publications
- Panelist, “Ethics Jeopardy,” American Bankruptcy Institute, Rocky Mountain Bankruptcy Conference, 2023
- Panelist, “Bankruptcy Non-Dischargeability Actions: Best Practices,” Utah State Bar, Spring Convention, 2021
- Panelist, “A Storm Is Coming: A Refresher on Key Bankruptcy Concepts,” Utah State Bar, Young Lawyer’s Division, 2021
- Moderator, “Diversity: Embrace it, Share it, Celebrate it,” Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers Forum, 2020
- Moderator, “Remote Litigation – Trials from Afar,” Utah Bankruptcy Lawyers Forum, 2020
- Guest Speaker, “Bankruptcy Basics,” Intermountain Credit Education League, National Association of Credit Management, 2017
- Moderator, “Technology in the Courtroom: Now and Later,” Turnaround Management Association, Utah, 2016
- Panelist, “Inside Tips for Non-Bankruptcy Lawyers & Why You Shouldn’t Forget About Bankruptcy in Your Practice,” Utah State Bar Summer Convention, 2015