Ella Dunbar

Assistant General Counsel

Ella Dunbar is an Assistant General Counsel in the Health Affairs and Research Group in the Office of Legal Counsel at the University of Kentucky. Her primary responsibilities include research and intellectual property matters. 

As Assistant General Counsel, Ella advises the University in areas related to research, including grants and contracts, intellectual property (patents, copyrights, and trademarks), research compliance, research misconduct, and a wide variety of agreements associated with research.

Prior to joining the University’s legal team, Ella served as in-house counsel for local company, Big Ass Fans. While at Big Ass Fans, Ella gained extensive experience with drafting and negotiating sales contracts during the company’s period of significant growth and later assisted with the company’s acquisition by a private equity firm.

Ella was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. She graduated with a degree in English Literature from the University of Kentucky where she was Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2015.  In 2022, Ella also obtained a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Kentucky.

B.A., University of Kentucky (summa cum laude)

J.D., University of Kentucky College of Law