Righton serves as the Practice Group Leader for the Products, Catastrophic, and Industrial Litigation Practice Group. Skilled in the courtroom and in pre-trial proceedings and litigation management, Righton focuses her practice on trial litigation and strategic counseling in personal injury, product liability, and toxic tort matters. She routinely guides clients through the response to and subsequent litigation resulting from catastrophic incidents.
Overview
Righton serves as the Practice Group Leader for the Products, Catastrophic, and Industrial Litigation Practice Group. Skilled in the courtroom and in pre-trial proceedings and litigation management, Righton focuses her practice on trial litigation and strategic counseling in personal injury, product liability, and toxic tort matters. She routinely guides clients through the response to and subsequent litigation resulting from catastrophic incidents.
Practice Areas
About
Righton’s 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. As an example of her experience, she obtained summary judgment for a highway products manufacturer on claims for defective design, defective manufacturing, and failure to warn based on 10-year statute of repose, no duty to warn of an unknown defect, no duty to warn the general public, and no duty to warn sophisticated users (GDOT). Thomas v. Trinity Industries, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (2020). Righton also represents defendants in breach of contract, tort, and constitutional matters.
Righton has experience defending federal multidistrict litigation throughout the United States, with experience in all aspects of fact discovery, including deposing plaintiffs, treating physicians and surgeons, and medical experts; taking and defending expert depositions; drafting and arguing discovery and dispositive motions; and developing, coordinating, and implementing defense strategy.
She is recognized by Lawdragon 500 (Product Liability and Industrial Litigation) and Super Lawyers® and she is active in the Defense Research Institute (DRI), Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC), the State Bar of Georgia (Chair of the 2016 State Bar of Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition), and Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. She also served as a panelist on “Bias & the Virus: Combating Institutional Discrimination & Disparity,” CenterForce, The Women in Law Summit Series, Virtual Summit Diversity, Inclusion & Self-Care, May 20, 2020.
Righton is from Savannah, Georgia. She obtained her J.D. and B.A., cum laude, from the University of Georgia. She is admitted to practice in Georgia.
Experience
- Obtained dismissal of case at summary judgment for highway products manufacturer on Plaintiffs’ claims for defective design, defective manufacturing, and failure to warn based on 10-year statute of repose, no duty to warn of an unknown defect, no duty to warn the general public, and no duty to warn sophisticated users (GDOT). Thomas v. Trinity Industries, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (2020).
- Defending highway product manufacturer in product liability and personal injury claims.
- Defending pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer in national mass tort litigation.
- Counsel for pulp manufacturer in premises claims.
- Counsel for industrial control manufacturer in multi-district litigation in Pennsylvania.
- Representation of property development company in appeal to Supreme Court of Georgia for a municipality's enforcement of an unconstitutional zoning ordinance. Held ordinance was unconstitutional and awarded prejudgment interest.
- Representation of university in matter involving constitutionality of legislation impacting bond financing.
- Representation of a medical device manufacturer in claims for defective design and defective manufacturing.
Distinctions
- Best Lawyers in America®
- Commercial Litigation, 2024-2025
- Lawdragon, 500 Leading Litigators in America, Product Liability, Industrial Litigation, 2022, 2024-2025
- Super Lawyers®
- Georgia Rising Star, 2014-2019
- Benchmark Litigation
- Member of the team selected as nationwide Product Liability Firm of the Year, 2018
Bar Admissions
- Georgia, 2008
- U.S. District Courts
- Georgia: Northern, Middle, Southern
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 11th Circuit
Education
- University of Georgia School of Law, J.D., 2008
- Moot Court Executive Board
- Editorial Board, Journal of Intellectual Property
- University of Georgia, B.A., Political Science, cum laude, 2002
Associations
- State Bar of Georgia
- Products Liability Advisory Council (PLAC)
- Defense Research Institute (DRI)
- DRI Young Lawyers
- Steering Committee
- Women in the Law
- DRI Young Lawyers
- Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
- State Bar of Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition
- Chair, 2016
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Panelist, “Bias & the Virus: Combating Institutional Discrimination & Disparity,” CenterForce, The Women in Law Summit Series, Virtual Summit Diversity, Inclusion & Self-Care, May 20, 2020.