Best Lawyers in America for Product Liability Litigation - Defendants
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Dartmouth College AB 1982 cum laude with distinction in Gov't Boston University JD 1986 I began my career in the litigation dept at Palmer and Dodge in Boston, Massachusetts until I returned home to Syracuse in 1989 to work trying cases at Smith Sovik. I became a partner in 1992 and Managing Partner in 2005. I have tried over 100 cases to verdict in many different practice areas including medical and professional malpractice, legal malpractice, labor law/personal injury, product liability, co...
Neal Pratt is widely-regarded as a “go to” trial attorney for high-stakes litigation. With an extraordinary record of success over 30 years, Neal has unique experience handling “bet-the-company” litigation and other thorny legal disputes. He is renowned for his strategic planning skills and meticulous preparation, and often succeeds in achieving client goals without the need for protracted litigation. When a trial is necessary, however, Neal’s extensive track rec...
Jessica W. Laffitte is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Jessica W., who practices law in Columbia, South Carolina, has been recognized since 2026. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jessica W. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Joshua S. Evett is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Joshua S., who practices law in Boise, Idaho, has been recognized since 2012. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Joshua S. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Charles A. Burkhart is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Construction Law and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Charles A., who practices law in Birmingham, Alabama, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Charles A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Margaret Oertling Cupples writes briefs and motions, and manages other lawyers who write them, in civil appeals and commercial litigation. As litigators and their clients know, a vanishingly small percentage of cases actually get to trial; for the rest, a great brief is the way to win. As national legal writing counsel in major litigation for 3M Company, Margaret’s individual contributions and her strong collaboration with colleagues have brought significant value to 3M for two decades....
Mildred M. Morris was admitted to the Mississippi Bar in 1984. Her experience spans litigation, medical malpractice defense, health care and drug and medical device defense. Some cases of note include Warren v. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp., 783 So.2d 735 (Miss. App. 2000) (American Law Journal Top 10 Defense Verdicts of the Year); Lindley v. Hamilton, 883 F.2d 360 (5th Cir. 1989); Herrington v. Spell, 692 So.2d 93 (Miss. 1997). She has tried cases to verdict by jury in numerous state and fede...
Upon graduating from law school, where he received the Most Outstanding Advocate Award, Steve became a member of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Corps). He served as a prosecutor and later became the lead prosecutor at Mayport Naval Station in Mayport, Florida, which involved his supervising other attorneys and their support staff in addition to trying cases. As a prosecutor, he handled some of the Navy's most high profile cases and tried over seventy cases to verdict. He ...
Scott Provencher is a trial lawyer with extensive experience representing hospitals, psychiatric and behavioral health facilities, pharmacies and pharmacists, and physician groups and physicians in civil litigation matters. Scott also handles litigation related to commercial disputes, including claims for breach of contract, tortious interference with business expectancies, misappropriation of trade secrets and a host of other disputes between businesses. He also defends products-liability an...
Reid Hudgins is a partner in the firm’s Dallas office. Prior to joining SBSB, he served as a law clerk to Justice Mike Willson at the Eastland Court of Appeals. During that time, he assisted in drafting numerous opinions related to personal injury, contract law, wills and trusts and all aspects of criminal law, among other areas. Mr. Hudgins focuses his practice on product liability litigation, personal injury defense, construction defect defense, trucking and transportation and multidi...
Gordon Rather has been engaged in active trial practice for more than 40 years. Year after year, he has been known as one of the state’s most effective trial lawyers. Clients have characterized him as a “great trial lawyer,” who is “in touch with every detail of a case” in addition to being “thorough and extremely good with juries.” His practice centers on litigation, including complex commercial issues, product liability defense, toxic torts, admiral...
Jimmy B. Wilkins is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Insurance Law, Litigation - Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and Product Liability Litigation - Defendants. Jimmy B., who practices law in Jackson, Mississippi, has been recognized since 2011. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jimmy B. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Ashley C. Webber (formerly Ashley Broach) is a founding partner of Marsh Atkinson & Brantley. She is a civil litigator, and she has a diverse practice that includes product liability, premises liability, professional malpractice, environmental liability, automobile/trucking litigation and mass tort defense. She has over two decades of experience in litigating and resolving catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in both state and federal courts and has handled several matters at the ...
Alyson serves as Practice Group Leader for our Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Group. Frequently called upon to assemble teams and manage both coordinated proceedings and individual plaintiff cases, she represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability litigation across the country. “Alyson is a phenomenal case manager and a strong litigator.” Chambers USA, which ranked Alyson for nationwide Product Liability & Mass Torts (2025). The Leg...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.