Serli Polatoglu 

Serli Polatoglu is the youngest lawyer to make partner at Ellis George Cipollone O’Brien Annaguey LLP. She hit that landmark at age 28 and remains the youngest partner at the firm. Her practice includes trade secrets defense work.

Her family is Armenian; her parents emigrated from Turkey in 1988. “I’m the first in my family to be born in the U.S.,” she said. “We’re Armenian and very proud of it. We speak the language at home and it’s a very big part of my life.”

She also speaks Turkish. That came in handy when she was an associate at Paul Hastings LLP and was the only one there who could translate documents and otherwise help with a Turkish client.

Polatoglu moved to Ellis George at about the same time as her Paul Hastings mentors, Dennis S. Ellis and Katerine F. Murray.

The three, with Ellis in the lead, are currently part of an Ellis George team defending L’Oréal USA, Inc. in new multidistrict litigation over allegations that defendants’ hair relaxer products contain dangerous endocrine-disrupting chemicals. In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3060 (N.D. Ill., transfer order filed Feb. 6, 2023).

“It’s a big case and a really great team,” Polatoglu said. Earlier, in her first assignment after arriving at Ellis George, she helped with a successful appeal that reversed a $66 million district court judgment of patent infringement and trade secrets misappropriation against L’Oréal. Olaplex Inc. v. L’Oréal USA Inc., 2019-2280; 2019-2292 (Fed. Cir., op. filed Mar. 4, 2021).

Beyond the courtroom, Polatoglu said, “I’m proud of the number of our cases that never become cases. One of the best services we can provide is when you see that a matter never gets filed.”

“We often deal with letters from would-be plaintiffs or claimants, and it’s a great exercise to be able to point out the points of law that favor us and get the other side to see that what they hope is a great case is not worth pursuing.”

Polatoglu is a double Bruin who graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree and then got her law degree at UCLA School of Law. Even so, she spent the last term teaching part-time as an adjunct professor at crosstown rival USC Gould School of Law. She hopes to do it again, but is stepping back next term. “We’re just slammed at the firm,” she said.

She taught legal research and writing. “It’s great to see all these kids begin to understand how important it is that when you put pen to paper it has to be persuasive,” Polatoglu said.

— John Roemer