Modak-Truran

National litigator and strategist uniting high-stakes advocacy with creative industry insight.

Anita Modak-Truran is a nationally recognized litigator known for her commanding courtroom presence and unwavering dedication to her clients. As one client said, “Anita Modak-Truran is a brilliant lawyer — but there are plenty of those. She’s our secret weapon. Anita is a fiercely loyal advocate, a fearless negotiator, and a true champion for her clients.”

• Drug & Device Litigation - Trials
• Products, Catastrophic & Industrial Litigation
• Groundwater & Chemical Exposure Litigation
• Mass Torts
• Intellectual Property & Technology
• Intellectual Property Litigation
• Commercial Litigation

Entertainment and Media

Engaged in a national practice for nearly three decades, Anita has defended global manufacturers in mass tort and multidistrict litigation across nearly every state and represented a chemical company in complex PFAS groundwater and product liability claims in federal court. She has tried significant cases to verdict in Arizona, Illinois, Mississippi, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, earning a reputation for rigorous preparation, incisive cross-examination, and her ability to translate complexity into clarity for juries and clients alike. She has won dispositive and expert-related motions in federal and state courts nationwide — and still enjoys the life of a road warrior.

As past President of Trial Attorneys of America, Anita is a respected leader in the legal community and an active member of several professional organizations, including the Defense Research Institute, the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, the American Bar Foundation, and the Recording Academy. Recognized by Best Lawyers in America®, Mid-South Super Lawyers®, and holding an AV®-Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, she is also a frequent speaker at national legal conferences.

Beyond the courtroom, Anita brings her strategic acumen to the entertainment world—advising filmmakers, producers, and creative companies on intellectual property, copyright, and distribution. As Executive Producer of an award-winning documentary on Nobel Laureate William Faulkner, she understands both the business and the artistry of storytelling.

Mass Tort and Multidistrict Litigation

Anita has managed large-scale national dockets and coordinated discovery and trial strategy for some of the most complex MDLs in the country, including:

• In re Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2974 (N.D. Ga.): Member of the Wave Discovery Team for a multinational medical device manufacturer.
• Military Earplug Litigation, MDL No. 2885 (N.D. Fla.): Member of Wave Discovery and Expert Team for a multinational manufacturer of military earplugs.
• In re Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2327 (S.D.W. Va.): Case Work-Up Coordinator managing over 30,000 cases and working with over twenty law firms.
• National counsel:  Coolsculpting medical device.
• Regional counsel:  Baxter pain pumps; Baxter dialyzers.
• Mississippi counsel: Hormone Replacement Therapy, Propulsid, Thimerosal, PPA, and Fen-Phen matters.
• Tennessee counsel: Angio-Seal, vascular closure device.

Trial Experience

Anita has been trial counsel in federal and state courts matters involving complex product liability, commercial, and constitutional issues. Highlights include:

• Representing global manufacturers in product liability lawsuits.
• Representing chemical supplier in a commercial and product liability trial involving a $10 million demand in federal court.
• Representing the City of Chicago in a range of high-profile cases, including:
  • Design and construction litigation over the former State Street Mall.
  • A First Amendment and national security case related to the 1996 Democratic National Convention.
  • A Commerce Clause challenge to the City’s spray paint ban, upheld as constitutional in National Spray Paint & Coatings Ass’n v. City of Chicago, 45 F.3d 1124 (7th Cir. 1995).
  • Multiple First Amendment zoning challenges, wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and a class action trial involving Chicago taxicab medallions.

Appellate Experience

Anita has briefed and argued appeals in both federal and state courts, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits and the Mississippi Supreme Court. Representative matters include:

• Anderson v. LaVere, 2014 Miss. LEXIS 119 (Miss. 2014). Represented Sony Music Entertainment in ownership dispute over photographs of blues legend Robert Johnson.
• Smith v. Johnson & Johnson, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98719 (S.D. Miss.), aff’d, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 16000 (5th Cir. 2012). Defense of pelvic mesh manufacturer in failure-to-warn and design-defect appeal.
• Travis v. Irby, 326 F.3d 644 (5th Cir. 2003). Jurisdictional challenge before the Fifth Circuit.
• Ayres v. City of Chicago, 125 F.3d 1010 (7th Cir. 1997) (Judge Posner presiding). Defended First Amendment challenge to limitations on street peddlers during “Taste of Chicago.”

Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law

Leveraging her litigation experience and creative background, Anita represents companies and artists in all facets of intellectual property and entertainment law, including:

• Representing major and independent film, music, and media companies in copyright and trademark litigation. 
• Serving as production and post-production counsel for independent film companies nationwide.
• Advising film and television producers on IP management, monetization, and distribution strategies.
• Negotiating and drafting production, distribution, franchise, and literary option agreements for entertainment and media clients.
• Counseling start-ups and established companies on day-to-day copyright and trademark matters.
• Producing a documentary for a biologics manufacturer involved in commercial litigation—an intersection of advocacy and storytelling that reflects Anita’s dual expertise in law and creative production.

National and Regional Recognition

• America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators®, 2019-2025
• BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
  • Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television, 2018-2026
  • Trademark Law, 2018-2026
  • Lawyer of the Year, Trademark Law, (Jackson, MS), 2019
• Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
  • Mid-South Super Lawyers, Entertainment & Sports, 2013-2025
  • Top 50 Women: Mid-South Super Lawyers, 2014-2015
• Martindale-Hubbell®
  • AV®-Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated, 2011-2025
• In Charge Legal, Nashville Post, 2022, 2024
• Women Times Magazine, 10 Most Empowering Women in Diversity and Inclusion to Follow, 2025
• 50 Leading Business Women, Mississippi Business Journal, 2012

Academic & Teaching Appointments

• Adjunct Professor, University of Mississippi School of Law - Deal-Making Fundamentals in the Entertainment Industry, 2015-2017; Professional Skills Fellow, 2013-2014
• Adjunct Professor, Mississippi College School of Law, Oral Advocacy, 2010
• Instructor, Tulane University, Media Law, 2012

Professional Recognition & Leadership

• Trial Attorneys of America, Worker Achievement Award, 2012
• Graduate, International Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy
• Participant, Executive Leadership Program, Harvard University, 2007
• Member, Technology and Intellectual Property Study Group, Mississippi Secretary of State

Early Career & Public Service

• Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel, City of Chicago – Managed complex constitutional, civil rights, and commercial litigation on behalf of the city.

• Illinois, 1987
• Mississippi, 1999
• Tennessee, 2014
• U.S. District Courts
  • Illinois: Northern, Central
  • Mississippi: Northern, Southern
  • Tennessee: Middle, Eastern, Western
• U.S. Court of Appeals
  • 5th Circuit
  • 7th Circuit
• U.S. Supreme Court
• Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Court

• Loyola University Chicago, J.D., 1987
  • Dean’s List
  • Loyola Law Journal, Student Articles Editor
  • National Moot Court Team
  • Regional Champion, National Mock Trial Team
  • Lewis F. Powell Medal for Excellence in Advocacy, American College of Trial Lawyers
  • Leadership and Service Award
• Gustavus Adolphus College, B.A., History, cum laude, 1984

• Trial Attorneys of America
  • President, 2022- 2024
  • Vice President & Program Coordinator, 2021-2022
  • Secretary, Member, Board of Directors
• Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
  • Vice Chair, Artificial Intelligence Committee (2025)
  • Former Chair, Drug & Device Substantive Law Committee
  • Former Tennessee Representative
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
  • DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, Member
  • Intellectual Property Litigation Committee, Member
  • Copyright Specialized Litigation Group, Member
  • Trademark Litigation Group, Member
  • Commercial Litigation Committee, Member
  • Fellow
• American Bar Association (ABA)
  • Intellectual Property Section, Member
  • Minority Counsel Program, Participant
• American Bar Foundation
  • Fellow
• Fifth Circuit Bar Association
  • Member
• Litigation Counsel of America
  • Senior Fellow
  • The Trial Law Institute (Advisory Board), Member

Intellectual Property & Entertainment Industry Affiliations

• Mississippi Bar Association
  • Former Chair, Intellectual Property Section
• Tennessee Bar Association
  • Member, Intellectual Property Law Section
  • Member, Entertainment and Sports Law Section
• Tennessee Intellectual Property Law Association (TIPLA)
  • Former President, 2017-2018
• Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts
  • Member
• Media Law Resource Center
  • Member, Entertainment Law Committee
• The Recording Academy (GRAMMYs)
  • Member

Artificial Intelligence, Science & Technology

• Panelist, Leveling the Artificial Intelligence Playing Field in Drug & Device Litigation: Closing the Gap Between Plaintiff and Defense Counsel Use of AI-Assisted Legal Representation and Trial Practice, ACI Drug & Medical Device Litigation Conference, New York, Dec. 2025 (upcoming).
• Co-Author, Empowering Healthcare With AI and Wearables: Smarter Data, Better Care ... or Not, Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Aug. 2025).
• Presenter, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Information Management, Risks & Rewards, Tennessee Health Information Management Association Annual Meeting, March 2025.
• Panelist, Navigating the Opportunities and Perils of AI-Assisted Legal Representation and Trial Practice, ACI Drug & Medical Device Litigation Conference, New York, Dec. 2023.
• Panelist, Apocalypse Now: How to Protect Clients in the Age of AI, FDCC Winter Meeting, St. Petersburg, FL, Feb. 2024.

Mass Tort, Trial Practice & Ethics

• Panelist, Managing the Future of MDLS: Understanding New FRCP Amendment, DRI Webinar, Nov. 2025.
• Presenter, Trial Under Fire, FDCC Winter Meeting, St. Petersburg, FL, Feb. 2024.
• Panelist, Demystifying and Defeating Junk Science in the Courtroom, ACI Drug & Medical Device Litigation Conference, New York, Dec. 2024.
• Presenter, Physician Witnesses in Personal Injury Cases: Refuting Doctor Testimony, Exposing Bias, Strafford Webinar, Aug. 2022.
• Presenter, Ethics Movie Hour: Legal Ethics That Arise in the Courtroom, Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, Chicago, June 2022.
• Author, What’s Trending in Drug & Medical Device Litigation, FDCC, Oct. 2022.
• Author, Understanding the Evolving Psyche of Juries,Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2020).
• Frequent speaker on trial ethics and storytelling, including FDCC, DRI, and Litigation Counsel of America events.

Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law

• Panelist, Reality and Fiction in Cinema and Literature, Based on Books – CineLibre International Books to Film Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, Oct. 2024.
• Author, Injunctive Relief in Copyright Litigation, Remedies in Intellectual Property Cases, DRI Defense Library Series (2018).
• Author, When the Band Splits Up: A Trademark Study of the Commodores, In-House Defense Quarterly (Spring 2018).
• Presenter, Fair Use and Noteworthy Copyright Battles of 2017, Tennessee Intellectual Property Association, Nov. 2017.
• Author, Regulating the Proliferation of Fake News on Social Media,For the Defense, Aug. 2018.
• Presenter & Moderator, Monetizing Intellectual Property in the Entertainment Industry, Mid-South IP Conference, Oxford, MS, Feb. 2015.
• Author, Mississippi’s Motion Picture Renaissance, Mississippi Business Journal, Jan. 2015.
• Author, Dissecting Intellectual Property Issues in Motion Pictures, The Mississippi Lawyer (2012).
• Presenter, Copyright Clearance @ the Movies, Tennessee IP Law Association, Nashville, Nov. 2015.
• Panelist, A Legal Toolkit for Filmmakers, Mississippi Bar IP Section at MIFF, 2012.

Earlier presentations include annual talks before the Mississippi Bar IP Section, DRI, TIPLA, and film industry panels on copyright, trademark, and entertainment law from 2008–2020.

Legal Commentary & Media Contributions

• Quoted, The Tennessean, “How the Supreme Court with Ketanji Brown Jackson Would Help Restore Faith in Our Criminal Justice System,” Mar. 2022.
• Guest Commentator, “Intellectual Property & Entertainment Law,” Mississippi Public Broadcasting, In Legal Terms (2013).
• Former Legal Commentator, WAPT News (ABC affiliate) and Mississippi Public Broadcasting (10+ years).
• Published more than 400 articles in newspapers and magazines on law, media, and culture.
• Recipient of numerous grants and awards for independent filmmaking.
• Founder and President, TPIND Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to education and literacy.