Butler Snow is pleased to announce Elizabeth W. Moreton and Matthew P. Smith have joined the firm’s Nashville office. Moreton will practice with the firm’s commercial litigation group, and Smith will practice with the firm’s pharmaceutical, medical device and health care litigation group.
“We are excited to have Elizabeth and Matt join our firm and Nashville team,” said Donald Clark, Jr., chairman of Butler Snow. “They are bringing a broad range of knowledge and experience to their respective practice areas, which will be an asset to our clients.”
The arrival of Moreton and Smith, coupled with the recent addition of former Tennessee Department of Commerce Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Arthur Whitehouse, builds on the growth the firm has experienced across its footprint. Throughout 2018, Butler Snow’s Nashville office added former Senior Policy Advisor for Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell, Leslie K. Hafner to its regulatory and government team; Tara L. Blake, Kenneth P. Conour and Katelyn E. Marshall to its pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare litigation team; Hannah Kay Hunt Freeman and Terrence M. McKelvey to its commercial litigation group, and Remington A. Shepard to its business services group.
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.
