Ellen D. Jenkins counts among her clients numerous domestic and foreign insurance companies. Her practice focuses on coverage under a wide variety of professional liability insurance products, including public and private corporation directors and officers liability policies, lawyers' professional liability policies, employment practices liability policies and financial institution liability policies. In addition to assessing and making recommendations with respect to her insurance company clients' rights, obligations and possible coverage defenses under their policies and the law, Ellen regularly monitors claims, coordinates defense efforts and participates in settlement conferences and various forms of alternative dispute resolution. Ellen also has extensive experience representing the interests of excess insurers and frequently advises excess insurers on a myriad of issues, such as the obligation of an excess insurer to contribute to the settlement of a claim where the primary coverage has not been exhausted by actual payments by the primary insurer.

In addition, Ellen regularly represents insurance companies in complex coverage disputes. Ellen has filed and defended - in state and federal courts across the United States - numerous declaratory judgment actions concerning particular policy provisions and exclusions, including, for example, the "Insured versus Insured" exclusion, pollution exclusion, professional services exclusion and bodily injury exclusion, which are all typically included in directors and officers and other professional liability policies. Ellen has also litigated multiple rescission actions and defended her clients against claims of bad faith and unfair claims handling practices. Because insurance coverage disputes frequently arise following the filing for bankruptcy protection by insureds, Ellen is routinely called upon to advise her clients with respect to the effect of an insured's bankruptcy on coverage and has litigated coverage actions in bankruptcy court.

Ellen also has a wealth of experience with the drafting of policy forms, exclusions and endorsements. She has also advised clients with respect to various agency issues raised by the insurer-broker-insured relationship. Among the topics of particular interest to Ellen is the concept of fortuity - that is, whether, as a matter of public policy, insureds should be permitted to avail themselves of insurance coverage where the insured's loss results from the insured's deliberate misconduct or from calculated corporate risk-taking.