Butler Snow LLP is pleased to announce that attorneys Paul V. Cassisa, Jr., Andrea La’Verne Edney, Alyson Bustamante Jones, Christy D. Jones, E. Righton Johnson Lewis, and Orlando R. (Rod) Richmond, Sr., have all been recognized in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America list. Compiled annually through peer nominations, this elite selection of U.S. lawyers represents the highest level of legal acumen in the nation.
“Paul, La’Verne, Alyson, Christy, Righton and Rod are certainly deserving of this distinction,” said Christopher R. Maddux, chair of Butler Snow. “Each has worked diligently defending our clients and ensuring they were represented with excellence. I congratulate them on this important honor.”
Paul V. Cassisa, Jr. | Oxford, MS
Product Liability, Pharmaceutical & Medical Device
As a member of Butler Snow’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group, Cassisa has successfully tried lawsuits across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona and Texas. His products liability experience includes pharmaceutical and medical device cases within the manufacturing arena representing clients in the healthcare and automotive industries often acting as lead counsel.
Andrea La’Verne Edney | Jackson, MS
Product Liability, Medical Negligence
Edney practices within Butler Snow’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Litigation Group and serves as Chair of the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee. She is experienced in defending cases involving product liability, medical negligence, premises liability, bad faith insurance, employment disputes and legal malpractice. With over 25 years of litigation experience, Edney is known for her distinct courtroom presence, keen ability to connect with jurors and demonstrated legal acumen when trying complex cases in state and federal courts.
Alyson Bustamante Jones | Jackson, MS
Pharmaceutical & Medical Device, Class Action
Jones serves as Practice Group Leader for Butler Snow’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group. Frequently called upon to assemble teams and manage both coordinated proceedings and individual plaintiff cases, she represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability litigation across the country. She is well-versed in MDL procedures, having represented major companies in high-profile MDL proceedings. Her recent experience includes serving as lead counsel successfully obtaining summary judgment in favor of a medical device manufacturer in the Middle District of Florida, serving as counsel for a major pharmaceutical company in litigation consolidated in the Eastern District of New York, and representing a medical device company as lead counsel in proceedings in individual matters in jurisdictions across the country.
Christy D. Jones | Jackson, MS
Product Liability, Medical Device
Jones is Of Counsel for Butler Snow and serves as a member of the firm’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group. With an impressive career spanning over 40 years of litigation experience, Jones is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most respected trial attorneys representing various corporations and cases throughout the United States. In many of these instances, she has served as lead counsel in bellwether trials.
E. Righton Johnson Lewis | Atlanta, GA
Product Liability, Industrial Litigation
Lewis serves as the Practice Group Leader for Butler Snow’s Products, Catastrophic, and Industrial Litigation Group. Skilled in the courtroom and in pre-trial proceedings and litigation management, she focuses her practice on trial litigation and strategic counseling in personal injury, product liability, and toxic tort matters. Lewis routinely guides clients through the response to and subsequent litigation resulting from catastrophic incidents. Her experience includes defending a highway product manufacturer in product liability and personal injury claims, automobile manufacturers against defective product claims, medical device manufacturers, industrial, commercial, and residential control manufacturers in mass tort, and public utilities in both tort and contract disputes.
Orlando Rod Richmond, Sr. | Ridgeland, MS
Mass Tort, Environment & Toxic Tort
Richmond is a member of Butler Snow’s Executive Committee and serves as a member of the firm’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group. He has over 30 years of experience and served as lead counsel or co-counsel in numerous jury trials in state, federal and military venues. He has tried at least 60 cases to verdict and handled numerous administrative proceedings. His trial practice over the past several years has primarily focused on mass tort litigation involving pharmaceutical products, toxic torts and environmental issues. In addition to his product liability practice, he also defends Attorneys General consumer protection litigation for clients in a variety of industries.
The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America is the most elite distinction in the profession, covering the best of the best in all practice areas. The Lawdragon selection process has involved over 30 years of researching and reporting on the legal industry and creating lists and guides for the most effective legal professionals. Lawdragon’s team brings more than 100 years in the lawyer reporting and information business. Those selected for the Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America typically have decades of experience on their feet in leading roles in state or federal courts and before government agencies. Often, they are members of premier trial lawyer invite-only organizations, including the American College of Trial Lawyers or the American Board of Trial Advocates. Also considered are attorneys’ practice-specific expertise, such as prosecutorial experience for White Collar or governmental experience for Antitrust.
