Overview

Merideth concentrates on major toxic and environmental tort litigation, as well as high stakes product liability matters and consumer class actions. She has worked on hundreds of these types of matters, honing her ability to clearly assess litigation risk and manage it efficiently and effectively, which clients greatly value. Merideth’s skills and case management abilities have been recognized in Legal 500, where one client described her as “efficient, hardworking, and responsive. Thoughtful, effective, and strategic approach to litigation and case strategy. Outstanding communicator. I would trust Merideth in a lead role on any litigation matter.”

Clients also appreciate Merideth’s extensive network of experts, which she enlists to help clients navigate the complex scientific issues accompanying mass tort and environmental litigation. She possesses a deep understanding of client needs and operations, having acted as in-house counsel during a long-term secondment with an industrial equipment manufacturer.

Toxic and Environmental Tort

Merideth guides clients through individual and class actions involving PFAS, PCBs, asbestos, hexavalent chromium, petroleum, coal combustion residuals, wood dust, and other chemicals and substances. Her experience extends to water, air, and site contamination and novel theories of nuisance.

Merideth brings an inventive approach to analyzing new claims, leading to early dismissal opportunities and leverage points. And as a proactive advisor, Merideth is strategic and practical with the insight she provides clients when assessing, quantifying, and managing tort risk outside of litigation to minimize the likelihood of future claims.

Consumer and Industrial Products, Including Wrongful Death and Personal Injury

Merideth defends a variety of product liability claims, with a particular focus on health effects litigation arising from alleged exposure to substances. She is creative in finding avenues to federal forums, pursuing resourceful jurisdictional challenges and crafting early dispositive motion strategies.

Merideth’s experience includes exposure claims involving asbestos, talc, silica, formaldehyde, wood dust, food contaminants, and others. As national coordinating counsel for one client’s mass tort litigation, she led a team that cut the size of the docket in half in the first five years through development and execution of a proactive and multi-faceted defense strategy.

She defends product-related consumer class actions brought under state consumer protection statutes, as well, and counsels clients in related-litigation avoidance through effective consumer communications. Merideth works with clients to manage risk related to Prop 65, product recalls, incident responses, and product-related contract negotiations, contract disputes, and indemnity matters.

Merideth is also known for her work leading clients through both premises and product liability litigation involving catastrophic injury and death in industrial operations. Her team supports immediate incident response and investigation and provides counsel to minimize risk in the event of possible litigation.

Pro Bono

Merideth brings her passion for strategizing and winning to an active pro bono practice, where she has represented victims of domestic violence in child custody and visitation matters. She currently advocates on behalf of family members seeking to care for loved ones through guardianship proceedings.

Experience

Toxic and Environmental Tort

  • Active representation as lead counsel for manufacturer in environmental litigation involving water contamination.
  • Active representation as lead counsel for power company in environmental litigation involving water contamination.
  • Active representation as expert coordinating counsel for manufacturer in water contamination litigation.
  • Prior representation of industrial manufacturer in cost recovery action arising from petroleum cleanup at former manufacturing site, obtaining favorable rulings at the motion to dismiss stage and using them to leverage an early resolution.
  • Prior representation of power company in mass tort action where 77 plaintiffs alleged health effects as a result of air contamination.
  • Prior representation of meat processing company in high-profile litigation alleging unsafe COVID-19 working conditions, winning complete dismissal at the motion to dismiss stage.

Consumer and Industrial Products

  • Active representation as national coordinating counsel in asbestos litigation for global industrial equipment manufacturer and government contractor defendants, including implementation of creative removal and jurisdictional strategies to secure early dismissals.
  • Prior representation on national coordinating counsel team for consumer product manufacturer facing novel scientific theory of asbestos exposure, including securing defense verdict for client in California state court.
  • Prior representation of national retailer in consumer class action litigation alleging formaldehyde in products, securing an early favorable resolution at the pleadings stage.
  • Prior representation of industrial product manufacturer in breach of contract arbitration arising from large-scale food contamination resulting from allegedly defective processing equipment, securing favorable resolution following highly persuasive evidentiary submissions.

Wrongful Death and Personal Injury

  • Prior representation of product manufacturer in personal injury case arising from alleged equipment malfunction in a meat processing facility, securing early dismissal for client at the pleadings stage in two different jurisdictions.
  • Prior representation of product manufacturer in catastrophic death case arising from an allegedly faulty crane at a wastewater treatment facility, securing early dismissal for client at the pleadings stage.
  • Prior representation of product manufacturer in personal injury case arising from an alleged equipment malfunction at a cheese production facility, securing early dismissal for client at the pleadings stage.
  • Prior representation of service provider in catastrophic injury case involving an industrial boiler explosion, including lead role in expert defense strategy development.

Accolades

Honors & Recognitions

  • Named to the “40 & Under List,” Benchmark Litigation, 2024

  • Recommended for Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Defense - Toxic Tort, Legal 500 United States, 2022-2024
  • E. Randolph Williams Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, 2016-2019

Affiliations

Professional

  • Member, Virginia Bar Association
  • Board of Directors, Connor’s Heroes

Insights

Events & Speaking Engagements

News

Education

JD, William & Mary Law School, cum laude, Editor-in-Chief, William & Mary Law Review, 2013

BS, Nutritional Sciences, Texas A&M University, summa cum laude, 2010

Admissions

Virginia

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