Erin Brockovich-Ellis
Web cast August 16, 2001 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT

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Brash, gutsy, and mini-skirted, Erin Brockovich was a lowly law office file clerk and twice-divorced mother of three when she spearheaded a direct action lawsuit that resulted in the largest legal settlement in U.S. history. Soon after being hired at the law firm of Ed Masry 10 years ago, her curiosity was piqued by medical records she found in a file on a pro bono real estate case. Her solo investigation, backed by Masry, found that Pacific Gas and Electric had exposed the residents of Hinkley, California, to toxic Chromium 6, which had leaked into the groundwater from unlined holding ponds, and had lied to them about the risks.

In 1996, PG&E was forced to pay some $333 million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents, many of whom had become seriously ill. The story of Erin's investigation and triumph were dramatized in the hit movie Erin Brockovich,, which won Julia Roberts a best actress award.

Brockovich has since traded in her "give you an eyeful" look for the title of director of environmental research at Masry and Vititoe. In that position, she has led the firm's work on a number of other cases, including another Chromium 6 case against PG&E in Kettleman, California, and groundwater contamination cases against Lockheed Martin, Dole, Delmonte Foods and Betz/Dearborn. She has received numerous awards and honors for her environmental defense work.

A native of Kansas, Brockovich studied at Kansas State University for a year before transferring to a business college in Dallas, Texas, where she earned an Associates in Applied Arts degree. Her striking looks won her the title of Miss Pacific Coast in 1981 while she was working in California, but she left the beauty circuit a year later after getting married. By 1990, she had two failed marriages behind her and was fending for herself and three children in Reno, Nevada.

She moved back to Southern California after being seriously injured in a traffic accident in Reno, and in 1991 hired Masry's law firm to handle her case. The settlement money did not cover her debts and, after unsuccessfully searching for work, she asked Masry to hire her. He was skeptical, but did, and she surprised them all.

Related Links:
The Law Offices of Masry & Vititoe