Skip to Main Content
Overview

Rachel advises on product safety questions and litigates product liability matters.

Rachel defends product manufacturers in product liability, tort, and negligence cases, with a focus on complex and catastrophic fires, explosions, and chemical exposures. Her experience includes both single-plaintiff litigation and class action cases, and she has assisted with matters where multi-millions of dollars are at stake, including propane gas tank explosions, residential home fires, and chemical spills and drift exposures. Recently, Rachel identified, supported, and prepared expert witnesses in multiple disciplines—from industrial hygienists to psychologists to fire and fire origin experts—for a multimillion-dollar chemical exposure, clean-up, and OSHA compliance trial.

In addition to her litigation work, Rachel also frequently advises manufacturers across industries on product safety matters, including questions regarding warnings, reviews, and labels, to ensure compliance with various laws, including the Consumer Product Safety Act, as well as to advise on best practices in accordance with industry standards. Rachel’s litigation experience gives her a particularly sharp eye for where product safety can go wrong, especially in the context of product safety warnings: she has previously litigated major cases in which the plaintiff alleged that the warning was insufficient. Rachel also advises clients overseeing product recalls.

Known as a highly detail-oriented professional, Rachel has a reputation among clients and colleagues for always knowing a case file backwards and forwards. She treats every case as personal to her and cares deeply about achieving the best outcome for clients.​

Industries

Services

Education

  • J.D., Emory University School of Law
    • with honors
  • B.A., Colby College

Admissions

  • Tennessee
  • Alabama
  • Missouri

Professional Memberships and Certifications

  • Chattanooga Bar Association
  • Chattanooga Rotaract Association
  • Propane Gas Defense Association

Languages

  • Mandarin Chinese, conversational


*Contact Rachel to set up an in-person consultation by appointment in the Chattanooga office.

2024 Pro Bono Contributor
Experience
  • Routinely advises clients on safety and compliance matters involving product labels, warnings, reviews, and recalls, including but not limited to:
    • Advised Fortune 500 company on consumer product warning language to ensure compliance with applicable laws and industry standards.
    • Assisted sporting goods company through recall process with the Consumer Product Safety Commission for the recall of over 15,000 products throughout the U.S. and Canada, including formulating responses for press release language and creating a recall strategy and corrective action plan.
  • Represented manufacturers in catastrophic fire and explosion cases, including the explosion of a propane gas tank at a work site and residential fires allegedly due to wiring of rental vehicles.
  • Managed all expert witnesses for multimillion-dollar chemical exposure, cleanup, and OSHA compliance case triggered by allegedly insufficient product safety warning.
  • Representing client in class action lawsuit over chemical spill.
  • Representing multinational chemical company in chemical drift case.
Outside the Office

Rachel enjoys exploring the outdoors and the local Chattanooga area—especially on a run. Her dog, Grits, is her constant companion for walks and hikes. A former rodeo competitor, she also rides horses.

When she’s not enjoying the outdoors, Rachel spends her spare time reading and preparing for her next book club meeting.