Practice Focus
Energy
Facility Siting and Land Use
Public Utility Regulation
Energy Transactions
Transmission & Interconnection
Compliance & Enforcement
Renewable Energy
Public Agency Representation
Consumer Representation
Legislation
Negotiation, Alternative Dispute Resolution & Litigation
Environmental
CEQA/NEPA
Land Use/Zoning
Administrative Law
Local Agency Formation
Bar and Court Admissions
State Bar of California
All California State Courts
United States Court of Appeal, Ninth Circuit
United States District Courts (Southern and Eastern Districts)
Federal District Court for the Northern District
California Supreme Court
Education
J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 1977
B.A., University of California at Riverside, 1972
Chris Ellison passed away on April 30, 2025
Christopher Ellison was a founding Partner in Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan and retired at the end of 2023. Since his admission to the California bar in 1977, Chris specialized in energy matters, concentrating on transactional, regulatory, and arbitration work on behalf of energy suppliers, customers, trade associations, public agencies, and regional reliability organizations. After working for the California Energy Commission, California Department of Justice Environment Section, and another private law firm, Chris helped found Ellison Schneider Harris & Donlan in 1990. He was a leading participant in the restructuring of the electric industry to promote open access transmission, customer choice, reliability standards, competition, licensing of new power plants, and the promotion of renewable energy.
