Vice-chair of WilmerHale’s Litigation/Controversy Department and a member of the firm’s global Management Committee, Felicia Ellsworth is a first-chair trial lawyer and experienced appellate advocate who is widely recognized for combining her significant trial experience with her recognized appellate skill to represent clients in complex disputes at all stages of litigation.  Felicia is known for her successful representation of clients in complex, high-stakes disputes in both state and federal courts, and has extensive experience representing clients in government-facing litigations and investigations, including those brought by state Attorneys General.  She has argued in numerous appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. She is a member of the American Law Institute, and is routinely recognized as a leading trial and appellate and litigator in industry publications, including The American Lawyer, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly and Law360.

Felicia was among the lead trial and appellate counsel to Harvard University in Students for Fair Admissions vs. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the case in which the Supreme Court ultimately overturned decades of affirmative action precedent, where Felicia first secured a victory for Harvard in both the District Court, which earned her the "Litigator of the Week" title in October 2019, and the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Felicia has also represented numerous clients in disputes on a wide range of legal issues with a particular emphasis on complex disputes in the areas of administrative law, commercial law, constitutional law, the First Amendment, intellectual property, and real property.

Felicia has authored several merits briefs and numerous certiorari-stage briefs in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and has also authored successful briefs and dispositive motions before federal and state courts of appeals, including the Massachusetts Appeals Court and Supreme Judicial Court and the US Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth and Federal Circuits. She has argued before both federal and state appeals courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States; the First, Second, and Sixth Circuits; and the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

Felicia has been appointed by the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts to the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services for the Massachusetts Court System and Standing Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil and Appellate Procedure.  She also serves as a member of the First Circuit Court of Appeals Criminal Justice Act panel.  Felicia is a member of the Boston Bar Association’s Amicus Committee and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Amicus Advisory Board.  Felicia worked as a Special Assistant District Attorney in the Middlesex District Attorney's Office where she prosecuted cases involving violent crimes, financial fraud, and many other offenses.

As co-chair of the firm's Pro Bono and Community Service Committee, Felicia maintains a robust pro bono practice, including representing clients in constitutional cases, criminal appeals, immigration proceedings, and civil rights actions. She played a lead role in WilmerHale’s representation as co-counsel with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Commonwealth’s challenge to the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, leading to the historic Supreme Court marriage equality ruling.  In addition, Felicia is the co-host of WilmerHale’s In the Public Interest podcast, which welcomes interesting guests who share their unique perspectives on challenging issues and topics making headlines.

Felicia is a member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Teach for America of Massachusetts and the American Friends of the Norman Foster Foundation.

A native of the Boston area, Ms. Ellsworth served as a law clerk to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the Supreme Court of the United States and to Judge Michael Boudin of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. She attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the University of Chicago Law School, where she was the editor-in-chief of The University of Chicago Law Review.