LeeAnn’s approach includes using the breadth of her experience handling matters in a variety of industries and her inquisitive nature to gain an in-depth understanding of the client’s business and industry. From pre-suit investigation and case assessment throughout all stages of litigation, she assists clients in identifying their goals and taking a hard look at the strengths and weaknesses of their positions to develop and execute litigation strategies designed to reach an optimal outcome consistent with the client’s business objectives.
LeeAnn also understands that the cost of litigation is measured not only in dollars spent on legal fees and expenses but also in the time and resources of a company’s leaders and employees and the disruption and distraction from its core business that litigation brings. She draws both on her experience in successfully representing clients in numerous mediations and her role serving as a mediator to help clients effectively evaluate possible outcomes, risks, and costs to navigate cases toward a resolution that reflects the economic realities of the risks and value of the dispute.
When settlement is not possible, LeeAnn brings over 35 years’ experience as a first-chair trial lawyer in high-stakes litigation to win the cases that have to be tried. Her cases frequently involve technical, scientific, and medical issues, and she excels at mastering complex concepts to communicate them simply and effectively to a judge or jury.
Throughout her career, LeeAnn has successfully represented companies of all sizes, from small and mid-sized private businesses to Fortune 50 global public companies, in a wide range of matters, including business and commercial, personal injury, product liability, chemical exposure, pharmaceutical and medical device, premises liability, and other complex tort litigation, and in consumer class actions and multi-district litigation.
She has represented companies, community banks, and national/regional banks as both plaintiffs and defendants in business litigation, including claims for breach of contract, supply chain and other vendor disputes, lender liability, business torts, fraud, RICO, wrongful foreclosure, real estate, and other business disputes.
In addition to representing clients in litigation, LeeAnn also serves as a business advisor to clients in areas of risk mitigation and avoidance and cost-effective management of disputes. She has developed and implemented national and regional coordinating counsel programs to assist clients in efficiently managing and coordinating discovery and litigation arising in re similar cases and pre-suit claims. She also has advised clients in the manufacturing and retail sectors on issues relating to product safety, including development and communication of product safety information and warnings, claim avoidance strategies, and Consumer Product Safety Act reporting, product withdrawals, and recalls.
LeeAnn is registered as a mediator and arbitrator with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution. She is the co-founder of Ardis Dispute Resolution, P.B.C. and provides mediation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution services exclusively through Ardis Dispute Resolution, www.ardisdr.com/neutral/leeannjones/
LeeAnn is an active community leader and volunteer, serving on the Boards of national and local non-profit and professional organizations. She is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2015. She currently serves as Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association’s Women in the Profession Section and has served on the Boards of the Human Rights Campaign and Jerusalem House (now known as Status:Home). She has served in various leadership roles at previous firms, focusing primarily on recruitment, associate development, mentoring, and diversity and inclusion. She is an avid sports fan and recreational pickleball player who enjoys gardening, politics, music and outdoor activities.