News & Insights

Melody Eagan, Lana Olson and Haley Cox Named to Benchmark Litigation’s ‘Top 250 Women in Litigation’ for 2021

August 27, 2021

Benchmark Litigation has named Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC managing partner Melody Eagan and partners Lana Olson and Haley Cox to its “Top 250 Women in Litigation” list for 2021. Olson has received the prestigious ranking for five consecutive years and Eagan the last three in a row. This is the second straight year Cox was named to the list.

The annual ranking recognizes leading female lawyers who have participated in some of the most significant litigation matters in recent history and who have earned the respect of their peers and clients. Attorneys featured in the “Top 250 Women in Litigation” are selected through an extensive, six-month research process, which includes a review of their recent casework, input from attorneys at peer legal institutions and client feedback on their performance.

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 represents medical providers in malpractice cases, and as appellate counsel for a number of clients. Benchmark Litigation recognizes Eagan as a “Litigation Star,” and she is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© and Mid-South Super Lawyers. She also has been recognized as an Elite Boutique Trailblazer by the National Law Journal. Eagan previously served as president of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.

 Olson’s practice involves complex, high-stakes litigation in a variety of areas, including environmental and toxic torts, product liability, business disputes and catastrophic injury. In addition to her regular litigation practice, Olson was the assistant general counsel for a leading heavy truck component distributor for seven years. She currently serves as First Vice President of DRI, the largest international organization of lawyers representing business. She will become the President of DRI in 2022. She is also 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. The Birmingham Business Journal has also named her a “Rising Star of Law” and to its “Top 40 Under 40” list.