Andrea La'Verne Edney
Office Information
- Chair, Inclusivity Committee
La'Verne practices within Butler Snow’s Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Healthcare Litigation Group and serves as the Chair of the firm’s Inclusivity Committee. She is experienced in defending cases involving product liability, medical negligence, premises liability, bad faith insurance, employment disputes and legal malpractice.
Biography – View PDF Bio
- About La'Verne
- Associations
- Bar Admissions
- Civic Involvement
- Distinctions
- Education & Honors
- Experience
- In the News
- Papers, Presentations, & Publications
Narrative Bio
La’Verne has tried numerous cases to verdict in Mississippi and other states. In 2019, she obtained a defense verdict following a pelvic mesh trial in Pennsylvania. See “J&J Dodges Pelvic Mesh Claims In Philadelphia Trial,” Law360, April 17, 2019. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and an Associate and member of the Executive Committee of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). She has served on the faculties of ABOTA’s Masters in Trial program and ABOTA and ABA trial academies.
She has received numerous honors and recognition for her expertise. She is recognized by Chambers USA in 2020-2021 and has been named one of the Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Mass Torts/Class Actions since 2016. Additional recent recognition includes Capital Area Bar Association’s Professionalism Award in 2021, Mississippi Women Lawyers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Mississippi College School of Law’s Distinguished Alumni Lawyer of the Year in 2018. In addition to her professional involvement and recognition, La’Verne serves on numerous community boards and committees including the Board of Trustees of Mississippi College, Origin Bancorp, Inc.’s Board, the Magnolia Speech School Board, Baptist Hospital Board of Regents, and the Greater Jackson Chamber Board.
She obtained her J.D. from Mississippi College School of Law and B.S. from Alcorn State University. She is admitted to practice in Mississippi and Tennessee.
Bar Admissions
- Mississippi, 1996
- Tennessee, 2018
Civic Involvement
- Origin Bancorp Board
- Baptist Hospital Board of Regents
- Greater Jackson Chamber Board
- Magnolia Speech School Board
- Mississippi College
- Board of Trustees, 1999 – present
- Search Committee, President of Mississippi College, 2017-2018
Distinctions
- Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers
- Fellow, International Academy of Trial Lawyers
- Barrister, International Society of Barristers
- Associate, American Board of Trial Advocates
- Board Member
- Masters in Trial Program
- Faculty
- Bencher, American Inns of Court, 2000 – present
- Leadership Jackson
- Benchmark Litigation
- Local Litigation Star, 2021
- The Legal 500 US
- Recognized in the editorial for nationwide Dispute Resolution: Product Liability, Mass Tort and Class Action: Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices – Defense, 2019.
- Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- Litigation: General Commercial – Mississippi, 2020-2021
More... - Best Lawyers in America®
- Mass Torts/Class Actions – Defendants, 2016-2022
- Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants, 2019-2022
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV®-Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 2012-2021
- Super Lawyers®
- Mid South Super Lawyers, Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice: Plaintiff, 2020
- Professionalism Award, Capital Area Bar Association, 2021
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Mississippi Women Lawyers Association, 2019
- Woman of Distinction, Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi, 2019
- Distinguished Alumni Lawyer of the Year, Mississippi College School of Law, 2018
- Recognized as one of The National Black Lawyers Top 100, 2015
- Feature, "La'Verne Edney Profiled in Jackson Publication," December 8, 2014
- Distinguished Service Award, Mississippi Bar Association, 2012
- Mississippi’s Fifty Leaders in the Law, Mississippi Business Journal, 2012
- Outstanding Woman Lawyer of the Year, Mississippi Women Lawyers’ Association, 2011
- Selected as an Honoree by Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, 2011
- Outstanding Service Award, Capital Area Bar Association, 2010
- Outstanding Service Award, Magnolia Bar Association, 2010
- Outstanding Service Award, Black Student Law Association, 2010
- Mississippi’s 50 Leading Business Women, Mississippi Business Journal, 2007
- Young Lawyer of the Year, Mississippi College School of Law, 2005-2006
- “Movers and Shakers”, Mississippi Business Chronicle, 2005
- Mississippi Supreme Court Appointments
- Access to Justice Commission, 2009 – present
- Task Force on Gender Fairness, 2009 – present
- Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee, appointed by Governor Haley Barbour, 2004 – 2011
- Chairperson, Ethics Committee of the Mississippi Bar Association, 2005 – 2006
- Certified Mediator
Education & Honors
- Mississippi College School of Law, J.D., 1996
- Alcorn State University, B.S., 1988
Experience
- Representative Matters
- Krolikowski v. Ethicon Inc.: Trial Counsel in a pelvic mesh case in Pennsylvania – defense verdict in April 2019. “J&J Dodges Pelvic Mesh Claims In Philadelphia Trial,” Law360, April 17, 2019
- Obtained numerous defense jury verdicts in state and federal court where plaintiffs alleged injuries and/or death of nursing home residents due to nursing home abuse and neglect.
- Obtained a defense verdict in a legal services fraud case.
- Obtained the voluntary dismissal of a premises liability case involving a shooting on the premises of a restaurant chain.
- Obtained a favorable settlement in a suit alleging inadequate security which led to customer’s stabbing and ultimate death at major restaurant chain.
- Obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial alleging inadequate security which led to customer’s shooting at major restaurant chain.
- Obtained favorable resolutions of uninsured/underinsured bad faith claims on behalf of a national insurance company.
- Obtained favorable resolutions for multi-family housing complexes accused of providing inadequate security and maintenance which led to assault, rape and/or other injury to residents.
- Obtained a defense verdict in a federal court jury trial alleging bad faith insurance coverage.
- Secured the summary judgment dismissal of a bad faith insurance coverage dispute in state court.
- Obtained a favorable ruling from the Mississippi Court of Appeals affirming the dismissal of claims of compensatory punitive damages in a bad faith home insurance case.
- Obtained a favorable jury verdict in a state trial alleging medical negligence and false imprisonment, with the decision ultimately upheld by the Mississippi Supreme Court.
In the News
- 237 Butler Snow Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2022
- Andrea La’Verne Edney and Franklin D. Rosenblatt Receive CABA Awards
- Chambers USA 2021 Ranks 47 Butler Snow Attorneys as Leaders
- Andrea La’Verne Edney Elected to Origin Bancorp Board of Directors
- 86 Butler Snow Attorneys Listed in 2020 Mid-South Super Lawyers® and Rising Stars
- Benchmark Litigation U.S. 2021 Recognizes 20 Butler Snow Attorneys
- Andrea La’Verne Edney Inducted into Two International Legal Societies
- 198 Butler Snow Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2021
- Chambers USA 2020 Ranks 44 Butler Snow Attorneys and 15 Categories More...
- Butler Snow Attorney Andrea La’Verne Edney Admitted to American College of Trial Lawyers
- Andrea La’Verne Edney Honored at Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi’s Women of Distinction Event
- 173 Butler Snow Attorneys Named in Best Lawyers® 2020, 19 Named “Lawyer of the Year”
- Edney Named President of Mississippi Bar Foundation - Mississippi Business Journal
- Butler Snow Attorney Andrea La’Verne Edney Named President of Mississippi Bar Foundation
- Butler Snow Ranked by The Legal 500 U.S. for Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Health Care Work
- Butler Snow Attorney Andrea La’Verne Edney Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Mississippi Women Lawyers Association
- BREAKING: J&J Dodges Pelvic Mesh Claims In Philadelphia Trial - LAW360
- Butler Snow Attorney Andrea La’Verne Edney Named Mississippi College School of Law’s 2018 Distinguished Alumni Lawyer of the Year
- Butler Snow Adds Four Attorneys to Ridgeland Office
Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Speaker, "Balancing the Scales: Leading Women Lawyers on Meeting the Challenges of the Legal Profession CLE," March 2018
- Faculty, "Masters in Trial: A Trial Demonstration from Opening Statement through Jury Deliberation," American Board of Trial Advocates, Masters in Trial program, Des Moines, Iowa, May 2017
- Faculty, TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy, American Bar Association, Reno, Nevada, March 25-29, 2017
- Speaker, "Getting it Right the First Time: Learning from Today's Top Verdicts and Settlements," ACI Long Term Care & Risk Management Seminar, Miami, Florida, January 2017
- Speaker, "The Fightin' Side of Me: Trial Tactics," November 2016
- Speaker, "Lessons Learned from the Front Line," Long Term Care Symposium, Nashville, Tennessee, November 2014
- Speaker, "Motivation, Willingness to Serve and Leadership," Mississippi Women Lawyers Association, September 2011
- Speaker, "Bridge the Gap Seminar," Young Lawyers Division of the Mississippi Bar Association, July 2011
- Speaker, "Taking It to the People," Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project, Desoto County Civic Center, Southaven, Mississippi, June 2011 More...
- Panelist, "Diversity in the Workplace," Mississippi College School of Law's Black Law Student Association, February 2011
- Panelist, "How to Volunteer," Mississippi Bar Association On the Road CLE, 2011