Lynnette Espy-Williams

Lynnette D. Espy-Williams serves as the firm’s Chief Diversity Officer. Lynnette has experience in litigating a wide variety of civil and commercial matters, including matters pertaining to mass and complex torts, professional liability, premises liability, products liability, contract disputes, and extracontractual disputes, including defending bad faith claims.

Lynnette has extensive experience in defending many high-exposure products liability and premises liability matters. With respect to products liability cases, Lynnette routinely represents manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of allegedly defective products in negligence actions stemming from allegations, including, but not limited to, failure to warn, breach of implied and express warranties, and any other theory in tort or contract.

Lynnette also frequently defends various entities in premises liability matters involving acts of negligent third parties, negligent or improper maintenance of premises, and inadequate security. Lynnette is thoroughly versed in tender and indemnification issues and routinely assists companies in determining where the risk of liability can be shared or absolved completely.

Lynnette handles cases in state and federal courts and she has been involved in every phase of litigation including, taking and defending fact and expert depositions, preparing and arguing key motions, negotiating with opposing counsel, drafting motions for summary judgment and motions in limine, and participating in pre-trial conferences.

Lynnette is the former president of the Gate City Bar Association, the oldest African-American bar association in the state of Georgia. She is also actively involved with the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, American Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association, and the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers.

Prior to earning her JD from the University of Maryland, Lynnette graduated from Spelman College, cum laude, with honors in economics. While at the University of Maryland, Lynnette was a staff member for The Business Lawyer as well as an associate articles editor for the Journal of Business and Technology Law. Following law school, Lynnette served as a judicial intern to former Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears of the Supreme Court of Georgia.

EXPERIENCE :

• Obtained summary judgment in favor of client insurance company wherein client’s denial of certain health benefits under a cancer policy was upheld where the plaintiff couldn’t prove her expenses fell within the policy’s limited coverage.
• Assisted in complex interpleader matter wherein client insurance company sought to interplead an insurance policy (property) into the court in order to determine the rightful owner of same. This matter set precedent in Georgia.
• Obtained extremely favorable settlement for a client distributor in a products liability case involving a paper shredder, where a four year old child sustained injuries to her index, middle, and ring fingers.
• Obtained favorable settlement for a client manufacturer and distributor in a products liability case stemming from a wrongful death claim involving a space heater.
• Assisted in obtaining extremely favorable settlement for client hotel management in a premises liability case involving a shower seat detaching from the wall and allegedly significantly injuring the plaintiff.

EDUCATION :

• University of Maryland School of Law, J.D., 2006
• Spelman College, B.A., cum laude, 2003

BAR ADMISSIONS : Georgia; District of Columbia

COURT ADMISSIONS :

• Georgia Court of Appeals
• Georgia Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court — Middle District of Georgia
• U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia
• U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

AFFILIATIONS :

• American Bar Association
• Atlanta Bar Association
• Gate City Bar Association
• Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys