Lana has never been afraid of a challenge.

It was therefore no surprise when she decided to join Lightfoot in 1999—a firm known for taking on the most challenging, high-stakes cases. Before joining Lightfoot, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Sam C. Pointer, Jr., the former Chief Judge of the Northern District of Alabama. Lana’s civil litigation practice has evolved over the years to include environmental and toxic tort litigation, products liability litigation, pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, class actions, business litigation and employment discrimination.

Lana has tried cases in both state and federal courts. She has experience in jury trials, bench trials, class certification hearings, Frye/Daubert hearings and has taken hundreds of depositions over the course of her career. With clients located all over the country, and ranging from large chemical companies to small businesses, Lana has practiced in a variety of jurisdictions, including Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey.

In addition to her normal litigation practice, Lana serves as Associate General Counsel to a leading heavy truck component manufacturer/distributor. In this role, she manages all facets of the company’s legal and compliance matters, from day-to-day consultation to the most complex and significant pieces of litigation.

I. Representative Matters:

• Defending numerous class action, mass joinder and multi-plaintiff lawsuits in which the plaintiffs claimed personal injuries and property damage as the result of alleged exposure to various wood-treating chemicals, including creosote, pentachlorophenol and arsenic (e.g, Avance v. Kerr-McGee (E.D. Texas); Andrews v. Kerr-McGee (N.D. Miss); Batcheldor v. Kerr-McGee (N.D. Miss).
• Representing major oil companies in underground storage tank ("UST") fund cases in Alabama.
• Defending a Fortune 500 company against claims of personal injury allegedly caused by exposure to formaldehyde.
• Advising a railcar manufacturer on business and litigation issues.
• Defending a natural gas marketing company in a fraud, breach of contract and RICO case where the alleged damages were in excess of $100 million.
• Defending a Fortune 100 company in a class action lawsuit and individual cases alleging personal injuries and property damage resulting from the release of chemicals from a train derailment.
• Serving as Assistant General Counsel for a heavy truck component manufacturer.
• Defending a Fortune 100 company in medical device litigation pending in the MDL and in various state courts.
• Defending a food manufacturing company in state and federal lawsuits in which the plaintiffs alleged that odor nuisances affected their property values.
• Defending uniform supply company in class action lawsuit for fraud and breach of contract.
• Defending Fortune 500 company against class action claims involving alleged improper sales tax charges.

II. Honors and Community Involvement:

• Recognized by the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers in America
• Speaker at the 2013 Transportation Megaconference XI, "The Best in Trial and Courtroom Techniques in Trucking Litigation"
• Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (“LCA”), an invitation-only trial honorary society comprised of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers
• International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), Member
• Chair of the 2011 DRI "Sharing Success" Women's Seminar
• Vice-Chair of DRI Women in the Law Committee
• Vice-Chair of the DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Seminar (2012 & 2013)
• Chair of the DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Seminar (2014)
• Member of the 2011 DRI Annual Meeting Steering Committee; Chair, 2012 DRI Annual Meeting Main Stage Programming
• Past co-chair of the Environmental Litigation Sub-Committee of the Business and Commercial Litigation Committee for the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association (ABA)
• Recurring speaker at the Alabama Defense Lawyer’s Association’s annual “Deposition Boot Camp”
• Member (2005 to 2012) and Past President (2009-2011) of the Board of Directors for Alabama Court Appointed Special Advocates (“CASA”), an organization that develops and supports volunteer representation for abused, neglected and abandoned children in court proceedings in Alabama. Lana has been involved with CASA since college and continues to find great reward in helping children in need.

Lana received a Bachelors degree in Public Relations/Communications from Florida State University in 1995. She graduated cum laude from the Cumberland School of Law in 1998 and was a member of both the national moot court and trial teams.

When she’s not being a lawyer, Lana enjoys being a mother to her two year-old daughter, Maggie, and her two other “children”, Jodie (Lhasa Apso) and her rescue dog Saban (St. Bernard)