Mary Rose Alexander, Global Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Environmental Litigation Practice, represents clients in complex commercial litigation involving toxic torts, class actions, environmental matters, as well as insurance, product, and commercial contracts in state and federal courts and arbitration forums across the country. A nationally recognized trial lawyer, Ms. Alexander represents Fortune 500 companies in some of their most difficult, high-stakes litigation, often in the most hostile jurisdictions.
She has been recognized by publications such as Chambers USA, Law Dragon, The American Lawyer, The Legal 500, Crain’s Chicago Business, and Best Lawyers in America for her trial work. Recently, Ms. Alexander was named to the Top 250 Women in Litigation 2020 by Benchmark Litigation, which recognized lawyers who “participat[ed] in some of the most impactful litigation matters in recent history.” In representing clients, she draws on considerable success defending against multi-state, multi-plaintiff litigation including in Multi District Litigation (MDL).
Ms. Alexander has tried scores of complex commercial cases across the country related to:
- Class actions
- Insurance coverage
- Toxic torts
- Environmental regulations
- Major industrial accidents
- Product liability / consumer fraud
- Energy / oil and gas contracts
Her diverse platform and unique skill set led to her appointment as the firm’s Vice Chair of both the Litigation & Trial Department and the Environmental, Land & Resources Department; positions she held for six years. Ms. Alexander is also the Global Chair of Latham's Women Enriching Business Committee and leads the firms efforts to promote women in the legal profession.
A sample of the disputes Ms. Alexander has handled includes representing:
- Weyerhaeuser in multiple putative class actions / product liability and consumer fraud lawsuits involving building products; recent jury trial
- Monsanto in multiple product liability / public nuisance lawsuits involving PCB contamination in various water bodies
- Nalco Company in an MDL including numerous class actions arising out of the Gulf of Mexico 2010 oil spill; obtained summary judgment that claims are preempted by federal law
- Mercuria Energy Trading Inc. in litigation involving a take-or-pay contract for a crude by rail facility; recent state court trial
- CONSOL Inc., in a recent state court trial involving a midstream gas joint venture; obtained complete trial victory
- Meritor, Inc. in insurance coverage litigation for tens of thousands of asbestos bodily injury claims
- Guidant Corporation in multi-state insurance coverage litigation involving medical devices
- Kilroy Realty in insurance coverage litigation involving construction matter
- Chevron Corporation in “Hot Fuels” MDL involving numerous class actions regarding the temperature of gasoline
- Northern States Power Company of Wisconsin in CERCLA litigation involving PAH contamination; recent federal trial
- Georgia-Pacific Corporation in CERCLA litigation involving the US$1.6 billion remediation of alleged PCB contamination in the sediments of the Fox River in Wisconsin; recent federal trials
- Chevron Corporation in toxic tort litigation involving nuclear contamination on the University of Oklahoma campus; recent motion to dismiss victory
- Arizona Public Service Company in an arbitration involving a coal supply contract with the Navajo Nation
- Pipeline company in a 400-plaintiff toxic tort litigation involving alleged drinking water contamination from an accidental pipeline release; obtained complete resolution