Most of the cases that Lewis Thomason attorneys litigate are complex matters.  Each litigation area involves complex issues like health and medical concerns and scientific, engineering, and technical questions.  Our firm provides support for the most complex and document-intensive litigation, and we have a large team of talented trial attorneys who can handle multiple complex cases and trials.

Class Actions and Toxic Torts

For over 30 years, Lewis Thomason attorneys have defended lawsuits arising from claims of toxic exposure in the chemical and asbestos industries, property damage and toxic exposure related to water quality, mold exposure in construction and building claims, and claims involving other environmental and air quality issues.  We routinely represent manufacturers, transporters, and generators of hazardous waste and materials in contract disputes, litigation, and insurance coverage disputes.  We have been actively involved in issues related to hazardous waste cleanup for Department of Defense and Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors, and we have represented automobile manufacturers in multiple class actions involving multi-district litigation over recalled automobile parts.  Our firm has also represented both public and private sector employers in collective and class actions dealing with federal labor law and state wage law violations.

General Civil Litigation

Lewis Thomason attorneys have over 50 years of significant experience in litigation ranging from property line disputes between neighbors to major accident, death, bodily injury, and property damage cases.  Our experienced litigation team is comprised of lawyers who are licensed in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

We regularly represent clients in lawsuits involving major accidents, premises liability, fire or other casualty loss, maintenance defects, construction defects, and product liability.  Most of the cases we handle are complex matters, involving catastrophic injury, death, multimillion-dollar property damage claims, and scientific, engineering, and technical issues.

Because Lewis Thomason attorneys have served as national, local, and lead trial counsel for domestic and foreign companies, our seasoned litigators have tried cases in judicial and administrative tribunals across the United States, including every one of Tennessee’s 31 state judicial districts across 95 counties, and all of its United States District Courts.

Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution

As participants in the system are learning, litigation is expensive, in money, time and resources. A lengthy pretrial process can be just the start given today’s clogged court dockets and even reaching trial can have unpredictable results. The legal community has developed several forms of alternate dispute resolution, such as mediation and arbitration, to help reduce all of those costs. Additionally, these alternate dispute resolution processes often allow parties to reach resolution in a manner that is quicker and more satisfying to all involved. Some courts and some state laws require that parties mediate prior to going forward with litigation.

The law firm of Lewis Thomason is proud to be a part of this growing field and has several attorneys who are specially trained and certified by the Tennessee Supreme Court to mediate disputes and help parties attempt a resolution short of a trial. We mediate in several areas, including family law and general civil litigation. The firm believes that, while nothing beats being well-prepared to try a matter, these alternatives should be attempted first and can lead to faster, far less expensive process and more predictable results for everyone involved.

Product Liability

Over the past several decades, manufacturers and their insurance companies have faced an explosion of product liability claims.  In addition to significant impacts on business finances, even non-meritorious product liability claims can create negative publicity, undermine brand positioning, and lead to government regulation, class actions, and individual lawsuits involving serious injury or property damage, including exposure to punitive damage claims.  Changes to Tennessee’s product liability law over the years make it even more critical to have experienced lawyers defending claims of product liability and damages.

Based on decades of effective product liability defense, Lewis Thomason attorneys are recognized throughout the state, region, and country for their strong product liability defense practice, and we are well prepared to guide our clients through the maze of pretrial discovery and litigation.  We have served as lead counsel throughout the Southeast in federal and state courts, associated trial counsel, coordinating counsel, and national discovery counsel.  In addition to our core strength of experienced trial lawyers, we have a strong support staff of paralegals, secretaries, and information technology specialists who can manage large amounts of information in an efficient and cost-effective manner.  We also counsel corporate clients on claim prevention and risk assessment.

We have represented manufacturers of automobiles, recreational vehicles, personal watercraft, motorcycles, airplanes, power equipment, construction equipment, firearms, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and other toxic substances.  Our firm also represents manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of products for the home, including ladders and electrical outlets, and industrial products like boilers and presses.  We know how to develop a case plan and themes and target discovery toward the development of those issues.  We also have knowledge of jurisdictional issues that are critical in helping the client decide how to conclude a case, such as which jurisdictions are not particularly “manufacturer-friendly.”  Because of our comfort in the courtroom, we are adept at helping our clients evaluate whether to go to trial from a position of strength, even when the risk is significant.

Professional Liability

We are sensitive to the fact that professional liability lawsuits and claims affect reputations, as well as personal finances, and we stand ready to aggressively protect our clients at both the trial and appellate levels.  Lewis Thomason’s professional liability attorneys have extensive experience representing accountants, attorneys, architects, medical professionals, insurance professionals, and real estate professionals just to name a few.  We understand the responsibilities professionals in these industries have and we invest significant time understanding the practices and duties unique to each profession.

With our firm’s longstanding experience representing professionals in litigation, we understand the importance of loss prevention and risk mitigation.  Our professional liability attorneys help their clients manage the myriad of risks associated with providing professional services so that they can instead focus on their clients.

Lewis Thomason professional liability lawyers provide comprehensive services to our clients through every stage of a claim, including if a lawsuit is filed.  We often represent professionals in matters regarding alleged breach of fiduciary duties; alleged professional malpractice; business tort litigation; complaints before disciplinary boards; regulatory compliance and professional standards; and departing partner issues, including non-compete and other restrictions.

Account Representation

We understand accounting claims are, by their nature, often technical. We have defended claims based upon accounting or auditing deficiencies, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to detect embezzlement and misappropriations, and poor tax advice.  Our lawyers are not only familiar with the applicable law but understand the language of accounting and the standards that guide the accounting industry. In addition, we have the unique position of having tax lawyers in house with experience representing accountants pre-claim in tax mitigation matters.  If a matter proceeds to litigation where professional liability is alleged, we have multiple lawyers with the experience to defend these claims and the tax lawyers in house to consult when necessary.

Lawyer Representation

Our professional liability lawyers understand the work other lawyers do and we work tirelessly to assist them when faced with alleged negligence or other claims.  We frequently defend clients against charges of ethical violations under the applicable Bar rules, professional negligence claims, conflict of interest claims, and alleged claims of a breach of fiduciary duty.

Director and Officer Professional Liability

Running a business always entails a certain level of risk.  Several high-profile scandals in recent decades, however, have led to increasing federal and state regulatory scrutiny of directors and officers.  Investigations and civil or criminal litigation can distract individuals suspected of wrongdoing and other members of the board or other officers from attempting to fix the problems that the prior misstep caused.  Lewis Thomson attorneys assist corporate boards and their officers with navigating these investigations and defends them from regulatory and shareholder derivative actions.

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