Ellie Perka has joined Lane Powell as a Shareholder on the Commercial Litigation and Construction Teams. Perka is a skilled litigator who helps her clients solve complicated and high-stakes construction claims and disputes.
Her extensive experience includes handling multimillion-dollar complex disputes on many of the Pacific Northwest's most notable projects, including the SR 99 Tunnel, the Seattle Seawall, the Washington State Convention Center expansion and the I-90 reconstruction. She has represented clients in settlement negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, and trials throughout the U.S. and has argued cases in Washington, Oregon, Texas, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington D.C.
Clients describe Perka as a tough but thoughtful advocate. Her high-profile work has attracted national media attention including coverage in the Washington Post, CNN, Bloomberg and Reuters.
Perka is also a strong advocate for women's and children's rights, including women's advancement in the construction industry. She serves on the Board of Construction for Change and frequently represents women and minority-owned DBE/MBE/WBE firms. Perka was instrumental in challenging Washington’s exclusion of non-minority women-owned firms from qualifying toward Condition of Award Goals on federally-funded construction projects.
Perka received her J.D., cum laude, from Seattle University School of Law and her B.A. in the Honors Geography Program from the University of Washington. She has been named as one of The Best Lawyers in America© for Construction Litigation in 2021, America's Top 100 High Stakes Litigators® for Washington in 2020, and a “Washington Rising Star,” by Thomson Reuters in Construction Litigation from 2014-2015.