Smith

Lea Ann is a member of our Products, Catastrophic and Industrial Litigation group. Her litigation practice covers a wide range of personal injury and products liability litigation. She represents clients in various industries, including product manufacturers, chemical suppliers, oil and gas companies, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, trucking companies, industrial machinery and recreational vehicles. 

• Environmental Litigation
• Toxic Torts, Asbestos & Silica Litigation
• Tort, Transportation & Specialized Litigation
• Products, Catastrophic & Industrial Litigation
• Premises Liability
• Groundwater & Chemical Exposure Litigation

Lea Ann’s experience includes all phases of complex litigation from inception through trial. She represents clients in litigation across the country, including roles on a national coordinating counsel team (NCC) and as a member of MDL case work up and expert teams. She has taken pivotal expert and fact witness depositions and argued key motions. As a member of the NCC team, she worked to develop a comprehensive strategy for a national defense, including developing a cohesive corporate story. She coordinated all written discovery. She located and prepared retired employees to serve as corporate witnesses. She also supervised large scale document collections and productions. Lea Ann was a member of trial teams that tried several cases in plaintiff friendly venues, including Philadelphia and New York.

Lea Ann has extensive experience identifying and preparing medical and industrial hygiene experts for deposition and trial. She coordinates preparation of expert reports, defends depositions, and has presented and cross-examined experts at trial. Lea Ann has worked closely with the industrial hygiene experts to develop and execute studies addressing exposures during the use of clients’ products

Lea Ann’s practice also includes environmental and toxic tort litigation. She worked on community-wide groundwater contamination cases at two different sites. Each site generated dozens of plaintiffs alleging both property damage and personal injury claims as well as litigation brought by the Attorney General. As part of the litigation, she worked with environmental engineering experts, toxicologists, and remediation experts to prepare reports and mediation presentations. Lea Ann recently served as lead counsel in Louisiana asbestos litigation for one of the nation’s largest home construction companies. As part of her toxic tort work, she has deposed hundreds of plaintiffs and fact witnesses as well as experts and corporate witnesses. She led a team coordinating work site discovery for hundreds of toxic tort claims. This included coordinating discovery with plaintiff’s former employers to obtain documents, conduct large scale document reviews and depose corporate representatives of plaintiff’s employers. 

Lea Ann actively litigates personal injury and cargo claims in Louisiana and Mississippi for trucking companies. She also defends recreational vehicle manufacturers and sellers in redhibition cases including claims brought before the Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission.

• Led a team of attorneys in managing all aspects of complex commercial litigation matters from pre-suit investigation through trial and appeal.
• Managed national counsel relationships, coordinating legal strategy and defense across multiple jurisdictions for Fortune 500 companies.
• Provided strategic legal advice to corporate executives and boards of directors on risk mitigation and dispute resolution.
• Recruited, mentored, and developed high-performing associates within the litigation practice.
• Defended community-wide groundwater contamination cases related to two different sites. Each site generated dozens of plaintiffs and multiple lawsuits, including litigation brought by the Attorney General suing on behalf of the State.
• Counsel for major paper manufacturer in premises liability and negligence cases.
• Secured summary judgement dismissal of contractor’s premises liability claim against paper manufacturer. 
• Defended medical device manufacturer in Louisiana litigation related to surgical suture device.
• Responsible for identification, retention, development and coordination of case-specific general causation experts
• Lead trial counsel for construction company in Louisiana asbestos litigation.
• National representation and member of the trial team for target benzene defendant participating in trials in various jurisdictions.
• Served on national coordinating counsel teams in toxic tort litigation, focusing on development of corporate and expert witnesses, facilitating large scale document productions and supervising local counsel.
• Represented clients in toxic tort litigation, including silica, asbestos and chemical exposure cases in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky.
• Obtained dismissal of breach of contract claim for multi-national company and served as counsel in successful appeal in federal court.
• Co-counsel for successful contest of OSHA citations stemming from fatal pipeline explosion.

• Super Lawyers®
  • Mid-South Rising Star, Personal Injury Defense, General, 2010-Present
• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions, 2017-2025

• Kentucky, 2002
• Mississippi, 2003
• Louisiana, 2013
• U.S. Court of Appeals
• 5th Circuit
• 6th Circuit

• Mississippi College, J.D., 2002
• Eastern Kentucky University, B.S., 1999

• Kentucky Bar Association
• Mississippi Bar
• Louisiana Bar Association
• New Orleans Bar Association
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Steering Committee
  • Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee
    • Publications Co-Chair, 2020, 2021
    • Annual Meeting Liaison, 2019
    • Social Media Chairman, 2018

• Presenter, “From Blank Canvas to Masterpiece: The Art of the 30(b)(6) Deposition,” Litigation Skills Workshop, DRI Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Seminar, Phoenix, Ariz., February 19, 2020.
• Steering Committee and Panel Coordinator, “Convincing the Millennial Juror,” DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Conference, 2018.
• Speaker, “Most Active Jurisdictions,” Harris Martin National Litigation Conference, 2013.