Lela M. Hollabaugh has served as the lead trial lawyer in more than a dozen jury trials, as well as more than two dozen bench trials, arbitrations and administrative hearings. She advises leading natural gas pipeline companies and other infrastructure clients on issues involving location, land acquisition, construction and operations. Over the past 20 years, Lela has served as lead counsel for several pipeline projects in the southeast involving hundreds of lawsuits. Currently she is assisting a natural gas company in the completion of a $3 Billion interstate pipeline project. She also provides counsel to companies in the aggregates and tolling industries. She recently successfully concluded a complex construction defect case for a natural gas services provider. Recently she was recognized as "Lawyer of the Year," Nashville, in energy law by the highly regarded Best Lawyers in America®.
In addition to her energy work, Hollabaugh also represents leading pharmaceutical, medical device and other product manufacturers in matters ranging from individual lawsuits to mass tort cases. She has served, and continues to serve, in varying national and local counsel roles in litigation involving Fosamax®, Xarelto®, Yaz®, Vioxx®, Baycol® and other pharmaceuticals. Currently she is representing a Fortune 20 company facing a high stakes products liability claim. She is listed in Who’s Who Legal, “International Who’s Who Products Liability Defense Lawyers.”
Lela has served in several leadership positions in legal, industry, and government organizations. She is a past-president of the Nashville Bar Association and is a past member of the International Association of Defense Counsel’s Board of Directors. She was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2009 to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. The Supreme Court appointed her as Chair of the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility in 2011 and re-appointed her in that role in 2012 and 2013. Hollabaugh is also listed on the American Arbitration Association’s (AAA) Roster of Neutrals for Commercial Litigation. She holds a J.D. and B.S. (with honors) from the University of Tennessee.