Attorney Philip L. Ellison

Defending the Right to Be Left Alone

About Attorney Philip L. Ellison

This Michigan attorney is devoted to one enduring idea — that government power stops at the private doorstep unless the constitution directs otherwise. Philip L. Ellison is the founder of Outside Legal Counsel PLC, a Hemlock, Michigan-based firm dedicated to defending Michigan property owners' rights. With over a decade of experience in civil litigation, his practice heavily includes Fourth Amendment challenges against warrantless government intrusions. As founding and principal attorney of the OLC law firm, Ellison has become one of the state’s leading voices in Fourth Amendment and warrantless-inspection litigation, representing homeowners, farmers, and small businesses against unlawful entry and administrative searches. His practice fights government overreach through targeted civil rights litigation, securing damages, injunctions, and fees for violated property owners under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He further extends the mission beyond the courtroom by helping Michigan residents understand, assert, and protect their constitutional right to privacy.

A Constitutional Litigator with Results
Ellison has argued and won constitutional cases at every level, from zoning boards to the United States Supreme Court. His work includes leading roles in major federal and state decisions defining the limits of government authority, such as Freed v. Thomas (restoring takings rights for Michigan property owners), Mockeridge v. Harvey (a Sixth Circuit victory reaffirming that “administrative convenience” is no substitute for a warrant) and Pung v. Isabella County (a case before the Supreme Court of the United States, testing the reach of property rights under federal law). Cases brought by Ellison, like Lindke v. Freed, have reached the United States Supreme Court and redefined federal law nationwide.

Each case advances a single proposition: that citizens, not the government, decide the fate and ultimate use of their private property.

A Michigan Voice for Liberty in Practice
Before founding Outside Legal Counsel, Ellison served in both the private sector and as an adjunct instructor of law at a regional public university, gaining an uncommon view of how bureaucracy bends law to convenience. He turned that insight into a focused practice in constitutional, property-rights, and civil-rights litigation — a combination rare among Michigan attorneys. Ellison attended Michigan State University for his law degree (with honors), graduated from Central Michigan University with MBA, and earn multiple degrees from Lake Superior State University. When not litigating, Ellison speaks and works on government accountability, open-records law, and constitutional privacy matters.