Smith

As a member of the firm’s Products, Catastrophic and Industrial Litigation Group, Margaret Smith focuses her practice on defense of catastrophic personal injury loss. She is national counsel for one of the leading highway product manufacturers and regularly represents clients in defense of claims involving injury to minors. Margaret’s practice also includes representation of private and governmental entities concerning sexual abuse allegations and exposure to toxins.

 In addition to product liability litigation and catastrophic incident litigation, Margaret routinely represents local governments and municipalities in matters involving Constitutional rights. Best Lawyers in America® recognized her as one of its Ones to Watch for Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants and Product Liability Litigation – Defendants.

• Tort, Transportation & Specialized Litigation
• Products, Catastrophic & Industrial Litigation

Margaret’s experience includes the national representation of highway product manufacturer in product liability and personal injury claims. She specializes in incident response with an emphasis on evidence collection and preservation. Margaret routinely represents local governments and municipalities in matters involving Constitutional rights.

She also serves on the team defending a pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer in national mass tort litigation related to pelvic mesh. In addition, she has assisted various clients, including churches and summer camps, in pre-litigation investigations into alleged sexual misconduct as well as served as defense counsel for sexual misconduct claims that resulted in litigation.

She is active in a number of professional organizations, including the Defense Research Institute, American Bar Association, Jackson Young Lawyers, Madison County Bar Association, Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, and Capital Area Bar Association. She frequently writes on litigation-related topics for a variety of publications, including IADC’s Product Liability Committee Newsletter, The MDLA Quarterly, and Butler Snow’s Pro Te: Solutio.

Margaret obtained her J.D., summa cum laude, from Mississippi College and her B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi. She is admitted to practice in Mississippi and pro hac vice in Tennessee and Texas.

• Brady v. Prentiss County School District, et al., Circuit Court of Prentiss County, Mississippi (trial defense verdict).
• Russell v. FCA US LLC, United States District Court Southern District of Mississippi, Northern Division (putative class action dismissed on early motion).
• Vann v. City of Southaven, Mississippi, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (amicus brief in support of appellants on the legal standard under the 4th Amendment for use of deadly force for suspects fleeing in a motor vehicle, which led to the Fifth Circuit panel granting a motion for rehearing, withdrawing a prior unfavorable opinion, and substituting for a new opinion).
• Young v. City of Richland, Mississippi, United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division (civil rights violation claim dismissed on early motion).
• Amy Adams and Charles Adams v. Energizer Holdings, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Jackson Division (product liability claim dismissed on early motion).
• George Waltman v. Engineering Plus, Inc., Circuit Court of Lauderdale County, Mississippi (summary judgment granted and then affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court).
• Browning v. Beau Rivage Resorts, Inc., et al., Circuit Court of Harrison County, Mississippi (summary judgment for defense).
• Rebecca and Jonathan Butler v. Jim Ray and the Webster County Schools, Mississippi Court of Appeals (dismissal of claims in trial court affirmed on appeal).

• Best Lawyers in America®
  • Ones to Watch, Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions – Defendants, 2021-2025
  • Ones to Watch, Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2021-2025

• Mississippi, 2012
• U.S. District Courts
• Mississippi: Northern, Southern
• U.S. Court of Appeals
• 5th Circuit
• Admitted pro hac vice in Tennessee and Texas

• Mississippi College, J.D., summa cum laude, 2012
• University of Mississippi, B.S., Business Administration, 2007
  • Chancellor’s Honor Roll
  • Dean’s Honor Roll
  • University of Mississippi Alumni Scholarship
  • President, Order of Omega
  • Executive Vice President, National Society of Collegiate Scholars
  • Beta Gamma Sigma
  • Alpha Lambda Delta

• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • Young Lawyers Section
• American Bar Association
• Jackson Young Lawyers
• Madison County Bar Association
• Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association
• Capital Area Bar Association
  • Social Committee
    • Chairman, 2013-2014

• Presenter, “Admissibility of Preventability/Non-Preventability Determinations; Driver Manuals; and Reptile Tactics,” 2022 Northwest Arkansas Transportation Seminar, The Harmonie Group, June 22, 2022.
• Author, “50 State Survey of Design Defect Requirements,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 11 No. 4, 2018.
• Author, “When in Doubt, Assert a Rule 403,” Practice Pointer, Jackson Young Lawyers May 2018 Newsletter, May 2018. 
• Co-Author, “Does Spoliation Spoil a Product Liability Claim? Analyzing and Defending Product Liability Claims of the Product-less Claimant,” IADC, Product Liability Committee Newsletter, December 2017.
• Co-Author, “Guilty by Association? Keeping Premises Owners Safe from Liability for Criminal Acts of Third Parties: Assignment of Fault to the Real Culprit,” The MDLA Quarterly, Vol. 41, Number 1, Spring 2017.
• Co-Author, “Is It Time to Erase Chalkboard Damages?” DRI, Strictly Speaking, The Newsletter of the Product Liability Committee, Volume 13, Issue 4, December 2, 2016.
• Co-Author, “Guilty by Association? Keeping Premises Owners Safe from Liability for Criminal Acts of Third Parties,” The MDLA Quarterly, Vol. 40, Number 4, Winter 2016.
• Co-Author, “The Phantom of the Chalkboard – The Collateral Source Rule and ‘Billed’ versus ‘Paid’ Medical Bills,” The MDLA Quarterly, Vol. 38, Number 3, Fall 2014.
• Co-Author, "An Overview of the Legal Standard Regarding Product Liability Design Defect Claims and a Fifty State Survey on the Applicable Law in Each Jurisdiction," IADC Product Liability Committee Newsletter, September 2014.
• Co-Author, "Survey of Design Defect Requirements," Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 7 No. 2, 15-23, June 2014.

• New Stage Theater, Board of Directors
• Junior League of Jackson
• Jackson Symphony League