Elijah Watkins

Elijah Watkins is a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP and serves as the Boise Office Head. He is a trial attorney who handles complex business disputes in state and federal courts across the country. His experience includes jury trials, appeals, administrative proceedings, arbitrations, and mediations. He represents clients in industries including healthcare, manufacturing, technology, construction, and financial services, with a practice centered on commercial litigation.

Watkins earned a J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law in 2009 and a B.S. in Organizational Communications from Brigham Young University-Idaho in 2006. His academic background supports a litigation practice that depends on persuasive communication, careful legal analysis, and the organization of complex factual records. He is admitted in Idaho and Illinois and in multiple federal district and appellate courts.

His representative experience includes obtaining a full defense verdict for a construction consultant after a month-long tribal court jury trial involving a multimillion-dollar casino expansion. Watkins has also represented medical device and respirator manufacturers in product-related claims, defended an international rollercoaster manufacturer, handled negligent-design litigation through the Ninth Circuit, and secured a favorable jury verdict in Lanham Act, unfair competition, and cybersquatting claims.

Elijah Watkins combines significant courtroom experience with leadership of Dorsey’s Boise office. His practice includes Commercial Litigation as well as work for clients in Banking & Financial Institutions, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Technology. By handling disputes across trials, appeals, arbitration, mediation, and administrative forums, he helps businesses respond to high-stakes claims while keeping litigation strategy aligned with commercial objectives.

Law Office Affiliations

• Partner, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
• Member, Idaho State Bar
• Member, Illinois State Bar Association
• Idaho’s At-Large Representative, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2025)
• Board Member, J. Reuben Clark Law Society (2012-Present)
• Member, DRI (2014-Present)
• Board Member, Federal Defenders of Idaho (2019-2020)
• Committee Member, Local Rules Committee, District of Idaho (2021-Present)
• Member, Idaho Working Group on State Prisoner Litigation (2015-2018)

Licensed State

• Idaho
• Illinois

Education

• University of Illinois College of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• Brigham Young University – Idaho
  Bachelor of Science (BS) in Organizational Communications

Awards & Badges