NEW YORK – Simmons Hanly Conroy Partner Ellyn Hurd has been named among the 2026 Notable Leaders in Law by Crain’s New York Business. The selection is part of Crain’s annual list of “Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law,” published today.
The business publication honors New York City professionals who “possess the financial, strategic, and legal expertise to drive significant commercial activity in the region, shaping New York City’s business landscape and fostering enterprise growth.”
Hurd has built a 25-year legal career, including more than a decade at one of the nation’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms. At Simmons Hanly Conroy, she serves in leadership roles in major national litigation dedicated to helping individuals, families, and communities harmed by corporate wrongdoing. In 2026, Hurd was named Best Lawyers® “Lawyer of the Year” in New York for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Plaintiffs.
In 2026, Hurd helped secure an $8.5 million verdict for an Arizona passenger in the first federal bellwether trial against Uber to reach a verdict. In 2025, she was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee leadership in the multidistrict litigation consolidating claims against Meta, Facebook, TikTok, Snap, and YouTube for their alleged role in designing defective and addictive platforms that engage adolescents by exploiting the neurobiology of their developing brains.
“Ellyn brings exceptional judgment, determination, and proven results to the most important plaintiff-side cases in the country,” said Simmons Hanly Conroy Managing Partner Laurence V. Nassif. “We are proud to see her recognized among New York’s notable legal leaders, and even prouder of the commitment, compassion, and skill she brings to clients to champion their voices against corporate wrongdoing and misconduct.”
As a Simmons Hanly Conroy attorney, Hurd has played a significant role in the national opioid litigation, where the firm serves as co-lead counsel in the National Prescription Opiate Multidistrict Litigation. Hurd was part of the team that helped secure a $230 million settlement with Walgreens for the city of San Francisco and helped litigate the nation’s first opioid case heard before a state jury in New York, which served as a catalyst for a $20 billion-plus national distributor settlement.
In 2019, Hurd helped achieve a landmark $60 million class action settlement on behalf of more than 150 Haitian nationals sexually abused at a school sponsored by a Connecticut-based university.
Hurd joined Simmons Hanly Conroy in 2012. She earned her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2001 and her A.B. in chemistry from Wellesley College in 1997.
