Butler Snow attorneys Kari Sutherland and Andrew Schrack recently participated in the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) 50th Annual Trial Academy from August 2-9 at Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, California. The IADC Trial Academy is one of the most respected programs for developing defense advocacy skills.
Sutherland was selected as one of 15 faculty members for the week and provided valuable expertise and insight as an instructor for trial academy attendees. During the week-long program, Schrack received instruction and demonstration from some of the best trial lawyers in the country and ended his week conducting a mock trial. He graduated from the program following his mock trial.
The International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy is the preeminent defense trial advocacy training program and is a career-changing opportunity for lawyers both looking to practice fundamental trial skills and seeking to take their advocacy techniques and tactics to the next level. It is a week-long, intensive program that blends small-group faculty instruction and demonstration with individual student participation. Its proven formula of hands-on, experiential learning accelerates the development of trial skills in a relatively short period of time.
Sutherland is a trial attorney and focuses her practice on pharmaceutical and medical device product liability litigation. She represents clients in significant personal injury actions in courtrooms across the country. In 2022, she served as lead trial counsel for Johnson & Johnson in the District of Arizona and won a unanimous defense verdict after a jury trial involving decommercialized pelvic mesh products. Later in 2022, she again served as lead trial counsel for J&J in the District of Arkansas and won a unanimous defense verdict in another pelvic mesh case. Between those two trial wins, she served as trial counsel in the Southern District of Mississippi in a balloon implant case involving serious injuries, and again secured a unanimous defense verdict. Her other pharmaceutical product liability defense verdicts include those resulting from trials in California, Illinois and Louisiana.
Sutherland’s additional experience includes managing national counsel teams consisting of firms across the nation in two of the largest product litigations in history. Among other memberships, she is a Senior Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America and a member of the Trial Attorneys of America. She also invests in younger lawyers with significant professional development work.
Sutherland is a former Special Agent with the United States Secret Service. She is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as one of its Top 250 Women in Litigation (2016-2023). She also received a 2017 Burton Award and a 2018 Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association “The Quarterly” Editorial Award for her written work. She frequently speaks and authors articles on litigation and trial-related topics, including for Butler Snow’s Pro Te: Solutio and publications such as Law360.
Sutherland obtained her J.D., with special distinction, from Mississippi College and B.S., cum laude, from the University of Alabama. She is admitted to the State Bars of Mississippi, Tennessee and Montana.
Schrack focuses his practice on commercial litigation and construction disputes. He represents clients in a variety of commercial disputes, including breaches of contract, shareholder disputes, commercial evictions, and complex commercial disputes. He also counsels construction owners, contractors, and subcontractors in payment disputes, mechanics’ liens, construction defects, bond claims, construction arbitrations, construction mediations, contractor licensing issues, and construction contract drafting. Schrack is a Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator and has experience mediating cases involving contract disputes and real property disputes.
Schrack completed his undergraduate education at the University of Memphis and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, the Memphis Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is licensed to practice law in Tennessee and in Arkansas.
