About Hillary
Hillary Ellis built her path to the law through a mix of state service and private practice. She earned a J.D. from Faulkner University in 2012 after completing undergraduate work at Florida State University’s Panama City campus, where she received a B.S. in Communication in 2009. Her college studies also included time at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2004.
Her early post-law school work placed her inside government service. In 2012 she worked for the Florida Department of Children & Families. The following year she joined the State Lawyer’s Office for the 12th Judicial Circuit as an assistant state lawyer. That first stint in the public sector gave her courtroom experience handling state prosecutions and related matters.
Ellis moved between public and private roles over the next decade. In 2014 she practiced with MSPerryLaw and joined local bar groups. She returned to The Law Place in 2015 for a period, then again rejoined the State Lawyer’s Office in 2017 as an assistant state lawyer in the 12th Judicial Circuit. In 2023 her résumé lists her once more at The Law Place, where she serves as a lawyer. The pattern shows repeated service in both prosecutorial and defense-oriented environments.
Her admissions and memberships reflect a focus on criminal law practice. She is licensed in Florida and admitted to practice in federal court circuits. Since 2015 she has been a member of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Locally, she holds memberships in the Sarasota County Bar Association and the Manatee County Bar Association, both since 2014.
Ellis is active in organizations tied to criminal defense and DUI practice. She has been a member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers since 2014. That same year she joined the National College for DUI Defense, the Inns of Court, and the Young Lawyers Division. These affiliations signal ongoing engagement with trial practice and professional development.
Colleagues describe a practitioner who is comfortable on both sides of the courtroom aisle. Her years in the State Lawyer’s Office provided prosecutorial perspective. Work in private firms and court admissions allow her to represent clients in state and federal settings.
She currently practices at The Law Place, handling criminal and DUI defense matters.
