Howard Ellis
Encyclopedia
Howard Ellis was a prominent Chicago
lawyer
and one of the name partners of Kirkland & Ellis
.
on January 15, 1892. He was educated at the University of Chicago
, receiving an LL.B. in 1914 and an LL.D. in 1915. He was admitted to the bar in 1915.
After law school, Ellis was hired by Weymouth Kirkland
and, with Kirkland, joined the Chicago
law firm
of McCormick, Kirkland, Patterson & Fleming, the predecessor firm of Kirkland & Ellis
. Eager to participate in World War I
, in 1918, Ellis volunteered to serve in the United States Army
but was rejected for physical deficiencies. He therefore went to France
in April 1918 and served in the French Foreign Legion
for the remainder of the war. After the war, Ellis returned to McCormick, Kirkland, Patterson & Fleming. There, Ellis became a close associate of Weymouth Kirkland
and participated in some of Kirkland's most famous cases.
In 1919, Kirkland and Ellis defended Robert R. McCormick
and the Chicago Tribune
in a libel suit brought by Henry Ford
. The Tribune had run an editorial in which it called Ford an anarchist for saying that any of his workers who volunteered to serve in the National Guard of the United States (which was then mobilized on the U.S. - Mexico
border to prevent the Mexican Revolution
from spilling into the United States) would be fired. At the three-month trial, Kirkland and Ellis argued that the Tribunes editorializing was fair comment
. Ford ultimately prevailed in the case, but the jury
awarded Ford only six cents in damages and six cents for costs. McCormick and the Tribune refused to pay the twelve cents, and Ford ultimately collected nothing.
Kirkland and Ellis again represented the Tribune when Mayor of Chicago
William Hale Thompson
brought a series of libel actions against the Tribune.
Kirkland and Ellis would win a major battle for freedom of the press in the Supreme Court of the United States
with Near v. Minnesota
, 283 U.S. 697 (1931). In that case, a Minnesota trial judge had declared a small Minnesota newspaper to be a public nuisance and permanently enjoined the newspaper from publishing because it had adversely criticized certain local politicians in violation of an injunction. When McCormick, who was then Chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers Association's Committee on Free Speech, found out about the case, he persuaded the American Newspaper Publishers Association to intervene in the case, with Kirkland serving as their lawyer. Kirkland lost the case in the Minnesota Supreme Court
but later convinced the Supreme Court of the United States
to declare that censorship
was unconstitutional.
Ellis later represented the Tribune when antitrust
charges were brought against the Associated Press
. Ellis ultimately argued this case successfully in the U.S. Supreme Court.
During the largest antitrust case in history at the time - that involving DuPont
- Ellis represented the Du Pont family
. (The government was attempting to force the Du Ponts to dispose of their stock holdings in General Motors
and the United States Rubber Company
.)
After the death of Weymouth Kirkland in 1965, Ellis served as managing partner of the firm, which by then was known as Kirkland, Ellis, Hodson, Chaffetz, and Masters.
Ellis died in his sleep on February 18, 1968. He was 76 years old. He was survived by his wife, the former Maude Martin Evers; the couple did not have any children.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and one of the name partners of Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm with headquarters in Chicago, known for its profitability and its litigation, bankruptcy, intellectual property and private equity departments. Kirkland & Ellis is currently ranked as the ninth most prestigious law firm in the United States by...
.
Biography
Howard Ellis was born in Washington Court House, OhioWashington Court House, Ohio
Washington Court House is a city in Fayette County, Ohio, United States. It is the county seat of Fayette County and is located approximately halfway between Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. The population was 14,192 in 2010 at the 2010 census...
on January 15, 1892. He was educated at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, receiving an LL.B. in 1914 and an LL.D. in 1915. He was admitted to the bar in 1915.
After law school, Ellis was hired by Weymouth Kirkland
Weymouth Kirkland
Weymouth Kirkland was a Chicago lawyer and one of the name partners of the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.-Background, 1877–1901:...
and, with Kirkland, joined the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
of McCormick, Kirkland, Patterson & Fleming, the predecessor firm of Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm with headquarters in Chicago, known for its profitability and its litigation, bankruptcy, intellectual property and private equity departments. Kirkland & Ellis is currently ranked as the ninth most prestigious law firm in the United States by...
. Eager to participate in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, in 1918, Ellis volunteered to serve in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
but was rejected for physical deficiencies. He therefore went to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in April 1918 and served in the French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
for the remainder of the war. After the war, Ellis returned to McCormick, Kirkland, Patterson & Fleming. There, Ellis became a close associate of Weymouth Kirkland
Weymouth Kirkland
Weymouth Kirkland was a Chicago lawyer and one of the name partners of the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.-Background, 1877–1901:...
and participated in some of Kirkland's most famous cases.
In 1919, Kirkland and Ellis defended Robert R. McCormick
Robert R. McCormick
Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick was a member of the McCormick family of Chicago who became owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper...
and the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
in a libel suit brought by Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
. The Tribune had run an editorial in which it called Ford an anarchist for saying that any of his workers who volunteered to serve in the National Guard of the United States (which was then mobilized on the U.S. - Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
border to prevent the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
from spilling into the United States) would be fired. At the three-month trial, Kirkland and Ellis argued that the Tribunes editorializing was fair comment
Fair comment
Fair comment is a legal term for a common law defense in defamation cases .-United States:In the United States, the traditional privilege of "fair comment" is seen as a protection for robust, even outrageous published or spoken opinions about public officials and public figures...
. Ford ultimately prevailed in the case, but the jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
awarded Ford only six cents in damages and six cents for costs. McCormick and the Tribune refused to pay the twelve cents, and Ford ultimately collected nothing.
Kirkland and Ellis again represented the Tribune when Mayor of Chicago
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
William Hale Thompson
William Hale Thompson
William Hale Thompson was Mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", Thompson was the last Republican to serve as Mayor of Chicago, and ranks among the most unethical mayors in American history.Thompson was born in Boston, Massachusetts to William Hale...
brought a series of libel actions against the Tribune.
Kirkland and Ellis would win a major battle for freedom of the press in the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
with Near v. Minnesota
Near v. Minnesota
Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 , was a United States Supreme Court decision that recognized the freedom of the press by roundly rejecting prior restraints on publication, a principle that was applied to free speech generally in subsequent jurisprudence...
, 283 U.S. 697 (1931). In that case, a Minnesota trial judge had declared a small Minnesota newspaper to be a public nuisance and permanently enjoined the newspaper from publishing because it had adversely criticized certain local politicians in violation of an injunction. When McCormick, who was then Chairman of the American Newspaper Publishers Association's Committee on Free Speech, found out about the case, he persuaded the American Newspaper Publishers Association to intervene in the case, with Kirkland serving as their lawyer. Kirkland lost the case in the Minnesota Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
but later convinced the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
to declare that censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
was unconstitutional.
Ellis later represented the Tribune when antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
charges were brought against the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
. Ellis ultimately argued this case successfully in the U.S. Supreme Court.
During the largest antitrust case in history at the time - that involving DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
- Ellis represented the Du Pont family
Du Pont family
The Du Pont family is an American family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours . The son of a Paris watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian noble family, he and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated to the United States in 1800 and used the resources of...
. (The government was attempting to force the Du Ponts to dispose of their stock holdings in General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
and the United States Rubber Company
United States Rubber Company
The United States Rubber Company was founded in Naugatuck, Connecticut in 1892. It was one of the original 12 stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and became Uniroyal Inc...
.)
After the death of Weymouth Kirkland in 1965, Ellis served as managing partner of the firm, which by then was known as Kirkland, Ellis, Hodson, Chaffetz, and Masters.
Ellis died in his sleep on February 18, 1968. He was 76 years old. He was survived by his wife, the former Maude Martin Evers; the couple did not have any children.