Mary Rose Alexander, Global Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Environmental Litigation Practice, represents clients in complex commercial litigation involving class actions, product liability, tort, contract, environmental, and insurance coverage in state and federal courts across the United States.
Ms. Alexander, a nationally recognized trial lawyer, represents Fortune 500 companies in some of their most difficult, high-stakes litigation, often in the most hostile jurisdictions. In representing clients, she draws on considerable success defending against multi-state, multi-plaintiff litigation, particularly with energy, manufacturing, and chemical company clients. She is especially skilled in cases involving complicated scientific matters related to chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), lead, metals, and solvents.
Ms. Alexander has tried scores of complex commercial cases across the country related to:
- Toxic torts
- Environmental regulations
- Major industrial accidents
- Product liability / consumer fraud
- Energy / oil & gas contracts
- Class actions
- Insurance coverage
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.
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
- Monsanto in multiple product liability / public nuisance lawsuits involving PCB contamination in various water bodies
- Nalco Company in 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
- 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
- Meritor, Inc. in coverage litigation for tens of thousands of asbestos bodily injury claims