Meghan E.

Smith

Position: Partner
Office: New Orleans

Meghan Smith is the co-leader of the firm's Environmental Litigation Practice Group and a member of the Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources and Construction Industry Teams. She focuses her practice on environmental/toxic tort, construction and energy litigation and arbitration, as well as regulatory compliance.

Meghan's blend of litigation and regulatory-compliance experience, as well as her focus on environmental, construction, and energy-related matters, has positioned her as a go-to lawyer for large public companies and privately held businesses facing complex disputes involving major public works, natural resource development, and infrastructure projects. She understands that such projects are often conducted under tight time frames with clear deliverables, and helps clients identify and execute strategies to bring disputes to swift and creative resolution. Meghan works closely with in-house legal, government relations, and operations teams, as well as an extensive network of technical and subject matter experts and consultants, to develop effective pretrial strategies that can help clients avoid the expense and potential unpredictability of a full trial, whenever possible. Fully prepared to argue her clients' interests in court, she is a proponent of pursuing creative resolutions in the early stages of a dispute, with an eye towards saving time, money, and resources.

In her environmental practice, Meghan has extensive experience representing oil and gas, chemical, and manufacturing companies, in regulatory compliance matters (both onshore and offshore), investigations, and litigation involving salt domes, mineral rights, drinking water, industrial accidents, environmental contamination claims, coastal erosion claims, and latent exposure claims.

In the construction arena, Meghan has defended engineering, construction, and design firms; general contractors; and subcontractors in a wide range of disputes. These include design-build and construction-defect matters heard in federal and state court and in private arbitration.

Meghan has litigated a number of commercial disputes on behalf of energy-industry clients. She also has experience handling complex litigation involving class action defense, workers' compensation claims, indemnification and contract disputes, and insurance coverage claims, and has handled contract negotiations.

Noteworthy

Experience

Expert witness management. Meghan handles early and targeted identification of expert needs, conducting interviews, participating in the selection of expert candidates, and managing consulting and testifying experts from engagement through deposition and live testimony. In complex litigation, Meghan has overseen cases where more than a dozen technical experts were necessary in a single dispute. Meghan has managed technical experts in wide-ranging fields such as petroleum engineering, pavement engineering, structural and geotechnical engineering, reservoir engineering, geomechanics, microseismicity, 3D seismic analysis, geochemistry, and hydrogeology.
Regulatory issues. Meghan is familiar with and has assisted clients in navigating major state regulatory schemes pertaining to injection and mining, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality's Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) groundwater remediation, remediation of soil under Statewide Order 29-B, Louisiana's orphan well program, decommissioning regulations, the Coastal Zone Management regulations, Act 312, the Groundwater Act, and the Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material Program (NORM). Meghan also has experience with major federal regulatory schemes managed by the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Depositions. Meghan has developed a strong focus on preparing and defending corporate representatives in complex litigation matters. Meghan also maintains a focus on defensive and offensive expert depositions.
Client-focused litigation and business/regulatory advice. During litigation, Meghan helps clients identify, pursue, and protect their interests; comply with regulatory response obligations; preserve insurance coverage; preserve litigation privileges and positions; and, sometimes most importantly, preserve ongoing operations and business with minimal disruptions from the legal team.
Arbitration. Meghan has been a key member of several arbitration teams and has assisted with preparing witnesses, strategized evidence presentation, taken fact and expert witnesses on direct and cross examination, drafted post-hearing briefings, and managed client relations throughout.
Motion practice oral advocacy. Meghan has argued and won dispositive motions, oppositions to injunctive relief, state court exceptions, federal and state court discovery motions, and motions in limine.