RIDGELAND, Miss., Jan. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Butler Snow is pleased to announce seven total attorneys have joined the firm’s growing Austin, Texas and Nashville, Tenn. offices. Christopher R. Cowan , Cedric E. Evans , Eric J.R. Nichols , Amanda G. Taylor and Karson K. Thompson have joined the firm’s Austin office and Elizabeth W. Moreton and Matthew P. Smith have joined the firm’s Nashville office. Cowan, Moreton, Nichols, Taylor and Thompson will practice with the firm’s commercial litigation group. Evans and Smith will practice with the firm’s pharmaceutical, medical device and health care litigation group. “We are happy to welcome this great group of attorneys to our team and continue expanding our presence in Austin and Nashville,” said Donald Clark, Jr. , chairman of Butler Snow. “Each is a great addition to our firm. We look forward to the knowledge and experience that they will offer to our clients.” Cowan focuses his practice on representing individuals and businesses in an array of civil litigations involving claims of fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, employment related discrimination, product liability, deceptive trade practices, negligence and misappropriation of trade secrets. He also has experience guiding his clients through government and internal investigations. Cowan has been recognized by Super Lawyers® as a Texas Rising Star in business litigation since 2014. Cowan is a member of the Austin Bar Association and the Texas Association of Defense Counsel. He received his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. He is licensed to practice in both Texas and California. Evans has devoted the vast majority of his practice to the defense of pharmaceutical manufacturers. He has taken lead or prominent pre-trial and trial discovery roles in mass tort matters involving a range of pharmaceutical products, including diet drugs, pain management medications, antidepressants, Cox-2 inhibitors, acne medications, antihypertensives and antiepileptic drugs. Evans has been recognized by Super Lawyers® as a Texas Rising Star and by Martindale-Hubbell® with an AV-Preeminent Peer Review rating. Evans is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and his Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law. Evans served in the United States Army Reserves from 1987 – 1997, retiring with the rank of second lieutenant. Nichols focuses his practice in the areas of civil and criminal litigation with a special emphasis on representing companies and individuals in business and commercial disputes, including pre-litigation counseling, the prosecution and defense of civil cases filed in court, the defense of civil claims pursued by government agencies and trials in courts and arbitrations. He also focuses his practice on representing companies and individuals during white-collar criminal investigations and proceedings in both the federal and state criminal justice systems. Nichols is a former deputy attorney general for criminal justice for the office of the Texas attorney general and a former assistant United States attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Nichols has been recognized by Best Lawyers for his work in bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation and criminal defense: white collar since 2012, named a 2017 Lawyer of the Year for criminal defense: white collar and named a 2018 Lawyer of the Year for bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation and/or criminal defense: white collar. He has also been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Texas Super Lawyer for business litigation, by Chambers USA for litigation: general commercial (Texas), by Benchmark Litigation as a local litigation star in 2018, by Martindale-Hubbell with an AV-Preeminent Peer Review rating and named a Lawyer of the Year by The Wall Street Journal and a Lawyer of the Year: Austin and San Antonio by Austin Monthly. Nichols is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the American College of Trial Lawyers. He received his bachelor’s degree, with distinction, from the University of Virginia and his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Taylor is a board certified civil appellate specialist who routinely assists trial counsel and represents clients in both district and appellate courts across Texas. Her practice areas are widely varied and include disputes regarding contracts, business organizations, shareholders, fiduciaries, trusts, the Texas Citizens’ Participation Act, real property, franchise and sales tax, employment, fraud/misrepresentation, consumers and high-asset divorces. She has been recognized by Super Lawyers as a Texas Super Lawyer for appellate and by Texas Lawyer as a “Rising Star” in civil appeals. She also was named one of “2018 Top 50 in Central/West Texas Lawyers” by Thompson Reuters. Taylor is a member of the Austin Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, the Travis County Women Lawyers Association, the Women in the Law Institute at Texas Law and the Baylor Law School Alumni Association. She received her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Vanderbilt University and her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Baylor University School of Law. Thompson focuses his practice in the area of commercial litigation. Having received his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in education from the University of Kansas, he is able to use his talent as a teacher, orator and writer to persuade judges and juries during trial. Thompson also has extensive experience with federal motion practice and procedure, having worked at one of the nation’s busiest federal courts while clerking for the Honorable Sam Sparks at the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Thompson is a member of the Austin Bar Association and Austin Young Lawyers Association, and currently serves as membership chair for the Austin Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He received his Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to joining Butler Snow, Moreton worked in general civil and commercial litigation, handling matters from pre-suit through trial. She also served as a judicial law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Stephen Hyles, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia, where she gained experience in immigration, Social Security and Section 1983 law. Moreton is a member of the American, Tennessee and Nashville Bar Associations and the Belmont University College of Law American Inn of Court. She received her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia and her Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University Law School. Smith concentrates his practice on complex product liability cases primarily involving pharmaceutical products and medical devices. He has substantial experience in complex pharmaceutical actions in both state and federal courts and has defended manufacturers in numerous cases involving over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs. Smith also has significant involvement with all aspects of product liability cases including overseeing discovery, authoring and arguing all types of motions including dispositive motions, taking and defending fact and expert witness depositions, preparing direct and cross-examinations at trial and preparing witnesses for both deposition and trial testimony. Smith is a member of the American Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. He received both his undergraduate and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. Smith is currently only licensed to practice in California. His admission to the Tennessee Bar is pending. Butler Snow has had significant growth in the last year, adding more than 30 attorneys nationwide. About Butler Snow Butler Snow LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 350 attorneys and advisors collaborating across a network of 26 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. Ranked as a leading firm for client relations and one of America’s Top 100 law firms in the BTI Power Rankings, Butler Snow is recognized as one of the nation’s top law firms for client service. The firm was recently ranked 48th out of 650 firms in the BTI Client Relationship Scorecard for understanding client business, anticipating client needs, unprompted communication, legal skills, quality and keeping clients informed. For more information, visit www.butlersnow.com or follow the firm on Twitter @Butler_Snow. About Butler Snow's Commercial Litigation Group Butler Snow's commercial litigation team handles a wide array of complex disputes arising from contract and business arrangements for a broad range of businesses nationwide. The firm’s commercial litigation practice is led by some of the firm’s most experienced trial lawyers who have gained regional and national reputations for successfully handling complex commercial litigation, class actions and mass tort matters. The team includes in-house CPAs, banking personnel, insurance personnel and others, providing invaluable contributions to their case strategies and work product. About Butler Snow's Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Health Care Group Butler SNow's pharmaceutical, medical device and health care group has a wide-ranging experience defending medical device and pharmaceutical companies in high-profile product liability litigation. Few firms in the United States have been called upon as often as Butler Snow firm to serve as local, regional or national counsel in significant pharmaceutical, medical device and health care cases. Butler Snow’s litigators play leading roles in federal multi-district proceedings and mass tort litigation and try a broad range of cases, including bellwether cases. The team was selected as Benchmark Litigation’s 2018 Product Liability Law Firm of the Year. In addition, the practice and many of its individual team members have been recognized by Chambers USA, The Legal 500: U.S., The Best Lawyers in America, Who’s Who Legal and Super Lawyers, to name a few.
Sherry Vance Allen Butler Snow 601-985-4103 sherry.vanceallen@butlersnow.com Todd Smith Deane | Smith 615-202-7944 todd@deanesmith.agency
