Ellen Yang

Ellen Yang brings 17 years of in-house legal experience across a range of industries—from Fortune 250 companies to high growth tech startups. As the firm’s first General Counsel, Ellen leverages her deep understanding of legal risk and corporate dynamics when providing practical and actionable legal advice to her clients.

Having managed litigation nationwide at these companies, Ellen understands effective and proactive case management, such as strong budget discipline, strategic and efficient legal spend, and regular client communication. She believes outside counsel should not only serve as zealous advocates for their clients but also as trusted and strategic business partners, who anticipate risk and provide sensible, forward-looking advice.

As Chief of Staff & Legal Counsel to Cruise, LLC, an autonomous driving vehicle company owned by General Motors, General Counsel at Penske Motor Group, LLC, an automotive retail holding company, Director of Contracts at Taco Bell Corp., a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, and Corporate and Field Operations Counsel at Public Storage, Inc., a self-service storage operator, Ellen has a breadth of knowledge across many legal sectors and industries. Her broad practice areas span litigation, employment, product counseling, and commercial and tech transactions. She has successfully managed and resolved employment claims (PAGA, wage and hour class actions, discrimination), ADA and consumer class actions, premises liability, and commercial disputes. On the transactional side, Ellen has worked on numerous technology and digital transactions and trademark licensing and co-sponsorship deals and provided day-to-day employment and HR counseling. In 2018, the Los Angeles Business Journal named Ellen on their “Women of Influence” list in recognition of her business aptitude.

Ellen is actively engaged with the in-house community and has been a board member of the Association of Corporate Counsel (“ACC”), Southern California chapter, which boasts a membership of over 1,700 in-house counsel, from 2017-2025. She currently serves as the Southern California Chapter President, where she recently hosted the 2025 Annual Gala and Pro Bono Charity Auction featuring Michelle Obama as keynote speaker.

Outside of work, Ellen volunteers with various organizations such as the Firefighter Expungement Project, the Innocence Project, the Los Angeles Food Bank, and at her children’s school. A devoted dog lover, Ellen dreams of one day running her own dog rescue.