News & Insights

Melody Eagan Assumes Role as Lightfoot’s Managing Partner

January 2, 2018

Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC is pleased to announce that Melody Hurdle Eagan has assumed her new role as the firm’s managing partner, effective January 1, 2018. She is the first woman to lead the firm and succeeds Wynn M. Shuford, who held the position for four years.

“It is truly an honor and a privilege to be able to serve as Lightfoot’s managing partner, and I am very excited about what the future holds for the firm,” said Eagan. “I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Wynn for his excellent leadership of Lightfoot and service to the firm. He has been an inspiration, and I am personally grateful for all he has done.”

Eagan, a trial lawyer at Lightfoot for more than two decades, was profiled last month in two articles by the Birmingham Business Journal (subscription required). A second installment (subscription required) ran a few days later with additional response.

Though she is breaking new ground as the firm’s first female managing partner, Eagan begins her time in the position with a focus on a long-held Lightfoot tradition: service.

“Our founders Warren Lightfoot, Sam Franklin and Jere White always put service to the firm and to our clients above their own personal interests, and following their example is a top priority as I step into this leadership role.”

That focus on client-centered service is something Eagan would like to see carry the firm into new areas of growth.

“While our long-time clients know what we can do, our vision over the next five to ten years is to become nationally recognized as the go-to litigation firm in the Southeast for corporate clients,” she said. “I firmly believe we have the tools, the talent and the culture necessary to achieve this.”

Eagan has held several leadership positions in the legal community throughout her career. An active member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association (ADLA), she served as the organization’s president from 2012-2013, only the third woman ever elected to the office. Eagan also served as Director and Officer for the association and was Chairperson for the ADLA Trial Academy.

Eagan is also a member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI) where she has served as the State Liaison for the DRI Women in the Law Committee. She is an active member of the Birmingham Bar Association, where she has served on the Public Service Committee for many years .

The firm’s announcement last fall that Eagan would become managing partner was covered by The American Lawyer and the Birmingham Business Journal (subscription required).