C E N T R A L O H I O T R A N S I T AUTHORITY
40 Under 40 Class of 2018
COTA CLAIMS COUNSEL
LINDSAY FORD ELLIS
Infectious laugh. Formidable in the courtroom.
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 | MassTransitmag.com | Mass Transit | 31
Fact:
Prior to joining
COTA, Ford Ellis
was one of very
few attorneys,
much less
African-American
attorneys, to
be selected as
staff for the
Chief Justice
of the Ohio
Supreme Court.
MassTransitmag.
com/12422356
individuals engaged in misconduct, she
recognized that COTA did not have a
Passenger Code of Conduct. She created
a cross-functional team, including employees
from customer service, transportation,
security and marketing to develop
the fi rst-ever published Passenger
Code of Conduct that was published on
buses in 2015.
As a 2017 William J. Lhota Leaders
of the Future Program Graduate, she
spearheaded the development of the
Ambassador Program at COTA, which
sends specially trained employees in
bright COTA garb to community events
where they engage and educate people
about COTA.
LINDSAY FORD ELLIS PLAYS AN INTEgral
role at Central Ohio Transit Authority,
making valuable contributions
during a time of great transformation
for the authority. She joined the legal
division in 2013 as associate counsel
and in 2015 was promoted to senior associate
counsel. Recently, Ford Ellis was
promoted to claims counsel, leading the
claims department in the legal division.
Ford Ellis has successfully settled
many cases and obtained judgments in
favor of COTA, including recently successfully
representing COTA as lead trial
counsel in a personal injury case involving
a claim that was brought by a passenger alleging
injury, saving the authority tens of
thousands of dollars in potential damages.
In 2016 Ford Ellis took on the role as
staff representative to the CBUS Taskforce.
A team of stakeholders came together
to research funding options so
the CBUS downtown circulator could
remain fare-free and Ford Ellis was the
point person for COTA, draft ing the task
force’s fi nal report.
As one of the attorneys who represents
COTA in seeking bans against
“As in-house legal counsel, my goal is to advise
COTA on the law and eliminate or reduce the authority’s
liability and exposure. In order to accomplish my goal,
it is critical to develop relationships with the operations
and business side of the authority. As I have forged better
relationships with my clients, they are more comfortable
seeking my legal advice and counsel because they view
me as a trusted legal advisor and their advocate.”
Lindsay Ford Ellis
Claims Counsel
Central Ohio
Transit Authority
(COTA)
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