Claire Ellis

Claire grew up in Sarasota, FL in a Cuban-American family, and attended college at Columbia University in the City of New York. She received her Bachelor’s in Human Rights with a specialization in Gender & Sexuality Studies and a concentration in English & Comparative Literature in 2023.

Throughout their undergraduate career, Claire’s academic research focused on gender-based violence among displaced persons, unfair labor practices in globalized domestic and care work, and universal civil liability for multinational corporate defendants for human rights abuses committed along their supply chains. Claire’s practical experience is in community and non-profit organizing, having co-founded the Reproductive Justice Collective of Columbia and Barnard, volunteered as an English tutor at Sanctuary for Families, and conducted outreach and education for UnidosNow to the Hispanic community in her hometown during the pandemic.

Claire has interned for the Honorable Judge Ilana Marcus in the Civil Court of New York City in consumer debt, small claims, and commercial landlord-tenant disputes. During her gap year, she worked for the 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, advocating for victim’s rights in criminal sentencing, community-intervention and treatment programs, and civil injunctions for spouses and families affected by domestic violence.

Claire aspires to litigate as a plaintiff’s attorney for the rights of vulnerable workers from their community: immigrant or migrant workers, feminized workers in the care sector, and workers with disabilities. Outside law school, Claire is passionate about ethical consumerism and thrift shopping, watching indie movies, and making zines with their friends.