B-Metro Magazine Names Lightfoot Partners ‘Top Women Attorneys’ for 2020

September 24, 2020

Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC managing partner Melody Eagan and partners Sara Anne Ford, Rachel M. Lary, Laura H. Peck, Lana A. Olson and Haley A. Cox have been named 2020 "Top Women Attorneys" by B-Metro magazine.

Each year, the magazine publishes a list of the leading female lawyers in Birmingham. The list recognizes women who have successful legal practices and who demonstrate commitment to their community and profession. 

Eagan became Lightfoot’s first female managing partner in 2018. She has decades of experience in high stakes product liability and catastrophic injury cases and has successfully tried numerous cases to verdict throughout the Southeast. She also regularly represents medical providers in malpractice cases, as well as serves as appellate counsel for a number of clients. Benchmark Litigation recognizes Eagan as a “Top 250 Women in Litigation” and a “Litigation Star.” She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© and Mid-South Super Lawyers, as well as being recognized as an Elite Boutique Trailblazer by the National Law Journal. Eagan previously served as president of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.

Ford’s legal practice spans more than three decades. She represents clients in complex commercial litigation and class actions. She has handled everything from shareholder derivative suits to medical device litigation. The Best Lawyers in America© has named Ford a “Lawyer of the Year” two times for her mergers and acquisitions litigation work.

Lary's practice includes defending against consumer fraud allegations in states across the Southeast. She is licensed in Alabama and Mississippi. In addition to her business ligation practice, she defends automotive manufacturers in product liability actions. Lary is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© , and the Birmingham Business Journal selected her as a "Rising Star Lawyer" in 2019 and gave her its NextGenBHM Award in 2020. 

Peck’s practice is devoted to civil litigation, including health care litigation, professional medical liability, pharmaceutical liability, labor and employment litigation, insurance litigation and appellate advocacy. Along with her work for clients, Peck serves on the Brookwood Baptist Medical Center’s Ethics Committee, and she frequently speaks to professional groups about litigation and employment issues. She is a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA), the Alabama State Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Birmingham Bar Association.

Olson’s legal practice involves complex, high-stakes litigation in environmental and toxic torts, product liability, business disputes and catastrophic injury. She served as the assistant general counsel for a leading heavy truck component distributor for seven years. Olson currently serves as Second Vice President of DRI, the largest international organization of lawyers representing business.  She will become the President of DRI in 2022. Benchmark Litigation named Olson one of its “Top 250 Women in Litigation” for four years in a row (2017-20), as well as a “Litigation Star.” She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© and is a Mid-South Super Lawyer.

Cox tries cases and leads defense teams in a wide range of high-stakes matters, including claims of product defect, consumer fraud, medical malpractice and serious personal injuries. She has litigated cases in more than a dozen states. Cox is the firm’s hiring partner and is instrumental in developing the next generation of Lightfoot trial lawyers. Cox is recognized by Benchmark Litigation as a “Top 250 Women in Litigation” as well as a “Future Star.” The Birmingham Business Journal has named her a “Rising Star of Law” and “Top 40 Under 40.”