News & Insights

Melody Eagan, Lana Olson, Haley Cox Named to Benchmark Litigation ‘Top 250 Women in Litigation - South’ for 2023

August 14, 2023

Benchmark Litigation has once again named Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC managing partner Melody Eagan and partners Lana Olson and Haley Cox to its prestigious “Top 250 Women in Litigation – South” list for 2023. They are no strangers to the list: Olson has been named to the list for the past seven consecutive years, Eagan for the past five years and Cox for the past four. 

The annual ranking recognizes preeminent female lawyers in the U.S. South 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 - South” 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. In an industry where female representation at the top ranks remains a focal point, accolades like these underscore the growing impact of women in shaping the landscape of litigation.

Eagan became Lightfoot’s first female managing partner in 2018. She has decades of experience defending 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 serves as appellate counsel for several clients. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America© and Mid-South Super Lawyers, and the National Law Journal has recognized her as an Elite Boutique Trailblazer.

Olson focuses her legal practice on complex, high-stakes litigation in various areas, including environmental and toxic torts, product liability, business disputes and catastrophic injury. In addition to her regular litigation practice, Olson served as the assistant general counsel for a leading heavy truck component distributor for seven years. 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. The Birmingham Business Journal has named her a “Rising Star of Law” and to its “Top 40 Under 40” list.