About Sally J.
Sally J. Elkington is a licensed attorney admitted to practice law in the State of California. She was admitted to the California State Bar in 1989. Her license is currently in involuntary inactive status, rendering her ineligible to practice law in California. Ms. Elkington is a partner at Elkington Shepherd LLP, a law firm specializing in consumer bankruptcy law, located in Oakland, California. She has been practicing law for over 30 years, focusing primarily on bankruptcy cases in the Northern District of California.
Ms. Elkington earned her Juris Doctor degree from the New College School of Law of California in 1986, where she concentrated on Public Interest Law. Prior to law school, she completed her undergraduate education at San Francisco State University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Communication Studies in 1983. During her time at New College, she developed a strong foundation in public interest law, which has influenced her approach to bankruptcy cases.
Ms. Elkington's practice areas include consumer bankruptcy law, representing debtors in Chapters 7, 13, and 11 bankruptcies. She has extensive experience in all stages of bankruptcy proceedings, including initial case evaluation, filing, negotiations, and court hearings. Her firm handles cases in all divisions of the Northern District of California, as well as the Eastern District of California. She has also represented creditors on a case-by-case basis and has prosecuted and defended lawsuits filed in Bankruptcy Court.
Throughout her career, Ms. Elkington has been actively involved in various professional organizations. She served a three-year term as a Commissioner for the California State Bar Judicial Nomination and Evaluation Commission (JNE) and was the President of the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA) in 2012. She has also served on the board of the ACBA for five years and has been involved in the Bankruptcy and Consumer Law Section Executive Committees. Additionally, she has been a speaker on numerous panels and symposiums in the area of Bankruptcy Law for various organizations, including the Bankruptcy and Commercial Law section of the ACBA, the Bar Association of San Francisco, and the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees.
Ms. Elkington has received several awards for her contributions to the legal community. In 2013, she was selected as Attorney of the Year for the California State Bar Solo and Small Firm section and received the Myer J. Sankary Award. In 2015, she received the Pro Bono Leadership Award from the ACBA Volunteer Legal Services Corporation. She is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA), the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT), and has served on the Northern District Credit Abuse Resistance Education (CARE) Program development committee. Ms. Elkington is fluent in English and has been recognized for her professional involvement in the legal community.
