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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

  • Chambers USA, Environment: Litigation (listed annually since 2021); Construction (2022)
  • Institute of Energy Law, Inaugural Leadership Class (September 2018–April 2019)
  • Under her leadership, Meghan's prior firm was named the 2015 Louisiana Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year by the Pro Bono Project of New Orleans and was the recipient of the 2017 Louisiana State Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award.

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.

Publications

  • "Looking to Expand Your Existing Facility or Renew Your Permits? Here's What May Be Different Under Washington's New Climate Change Policies," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, September 22, 2021
  • "Special report: Regulatory roadmap can facilitate approval process for offshore wind projects," Offshore Magazine, August 2, 2021
  • "Coastal Zone Management Act and its Impact on Offshore Wind Development," Jones Walker LLP Offshore Wind Client Alert, July 27, 2021
  • "'Functional Equivalent of a Discharge' Comes Full Circle: Maui Court Implements SCOTUS Guidance," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, July 23, 2021
  • "DOI's Regulation of Offshore Wind Leases Coming Into Clearer Focus With Recent MOA," Jones Walker LLP Offshore Wind Client Alert, April 29, 2021
  • "When Is a Draft Not a Draft? SCOTUS Rejects Effects-Based Test for FOIA Exception," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, March 15, 2021
  • "Possible, Probable, or Unlikely? Climate Change Policy in a Biden Administration," RealClearEnergy, November 16, 2020
  • "The Potential Post-Election Fate Of Trump Enviro Orders," Law360, October 30, 2020
  • "Climate Change at the Crossroads: The Potential Impact the Election Will Have on Climate Change Policy," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Law and the Election - Environmental Client Alert, October 22, 2020
  • "The Fate of Executive Orders after 2020 Election," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Law and the Election - Environmental Client Alert, October 6, 2020
  • "Environmental Law in the Construction Industry," Construction Law Update, Wolters Kluwer, 2020–2021
  • "National Monuments: by Land Only or by Sea Too?" Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, August 24, 2020
  • "Superfund Settlors: Mind Your Neighbors," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, April 30, 2020
  • "Clear as Mud: What Does SCOTUS' 'Functional Equivalent of a Direct Discharge' Standard Mean for the Future of Clean Water Act," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, April 28, 2020
  • "Man Versus Frog Rematch: Man Bounces Back, But How High?" Jones Walker LLP Energy Client Alert, December 2018
  • "CWA and Groundwater: There and Back Again," Jones Walker LLP Energy Client Alert, October 2018
  • "Groundwater Unchained: Courts Agree to Disagree on Subsurface Seepage under the CWA," Jones Walker LLP Energy Client Alert, May 1, 2018
  • "9th Circuit Sinks to New Level: Tracing Subsurface Pollutants in Groundwater to Surface Waters," Jones Walker LLP Environmental Client Alert, April 6, 2018
  • "That’s One Small Step for Frog, One Giant Leap For Bureaucrats," Jones Walker LLP Energy Client Alert, March 2018
  • "Focus on Professionalism: The Law Student Debt Crisis Matters," Louisiana State Bar Association Bar Journal, April 2016

Presentations

  • "New Rules and Recent Developments in Advanced E-Discovery Practice," Louisiana State Bar Association New Discoveries in E-Discovery, November 19, 2019
  • "Louisiana Environmental Enforcement and Compliance," Louisiana State Bar Association Energy & Environmental Law Summit, November 13, 2019
  • "Ethics and Experts: Avoiding Common Pitfalls," Louisiana State Bar Association Environmental Law Section Annual CLE Seminar, December 14, 2018
  • "The Presentation and Use of Summary Judgment Evidence," Louisiana State Bar Association, Prove It! Evidence Law in the Trenches Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 4, 2018
  • "Experts: Avoiding 'Uh-Oh!' Moments," New Orleans Bar Association, December 20, 2017
  • "Managing Conflicts, Privileges, and Duties Under a Reservation of Rights in Complex Litigation," Society of Environmental Insurance Professionals Executive Summit, Atlanta, Georgia, June 15, 2017
  • "Three's Company: The Relationship Between the Insured, Coverage Counsel, and the Claims Professional in Complex Environmental Litigation," National Forum for Environmental and Toxic Tort Issues Annual Conference, September 22, 2016
  • "Joint Defense Privilege and Joint Defense Agreements," ABA Environmental and Toxic Tort Section, June 17, 2015

Memberships

  • American Bar Association, Environmental Litigation and Toxic Tort Committee, Vice Chair (2014–2016)
  • Louisiana State Bar Association
  • New Orleans Bar Association
  • Institute for Energy Law
black and white headshot of Meghan E. Smith
New Orleans
201 St. Charles Ave
New Orleans, LA 70170-5100
D: 504.582.8709
F: 504.589.8709
Emailmsmith@joneswalker.com
Houston
Suite 2900
811 Main St
Houston, TX 77002
D: 713.437.1804
F: 713.437.1810

Education

  • Tulane University Law School
    JD, certificate in Maritime Law, 2011
  • University of Pennsylvania
    BA, Economics and Political Science, 2008

Bar Admissions

  • Louisiana
  • Texas

Court Admissions

  • US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
  • US District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
  • US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

Related Practices

  • Construction
  • Energy & Natural Resources Practice
  • Energy Litigation
  • Energy Regulatory
  • Environmental & Toxic Torts
  • Environmental Enforcement & Litigation
  • Environmental Regulatory
  • Litigation
  • Oil & Gas

Related Industries

  • Construction
  • Energy, Environmental & Natural Resources
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