News & Insights

Haley Cox, Melody Eagan, Lana Olson Named to Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation – South for 2026

August 24, 2026

Three Lightfoot, Franklin & White LLC partners, Haley A. Cox, Melody H. Eagan and Lana A. Olson, have been named to Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation – South list for 2026. All three have earned the recognition in multiple prior years.

The list recognizes leading female lawyers who have shaped some of the most significant litigation matters in recent history and who have earned the respect of their peers and clients. Selection follows an extensive, six-month research process drawing on that includes a review of recent casework, input from attorneys at peer legal institutions and client feedback on their performance.

Cox tries cases and leads defense teams in a wide range of high-stakes matters, including claims of product defect, medical malpractice and serious personal injury. She has litigated in more than a dozen states. She serves on the firm’s Executive Committee and spent more than a decade leading Lightfoot’s recruiting efforts, helping shape the next generation of the firm’s trial lawyers. 

Eagan brings decades of experience in high-stakes product liability, catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases and has tried numerous cases to verdict throughout the Southeast. She also represents doctors and hospitals in medical malpractice cases and serves as appellate counsel for a number of clients. 

Olson maintains a varied, high-stakes litigation practice that includes environmental and toxic tort, product liability, catastrophic injury and employment matters. Before returning to private practice, she spent seven years as assistant general counsel for a leading heavy-truck component distributor, experience that gives her a firsthand understanding of the pressures in-house counsel face.