Elizabeth S. Lawton
Member
Elizabeth S. Lawton originally joined the firm in 1993. Mrs. Lawton left the firm in 1997 to accept an appointment by Governor Cecil Underwood as Commissioner, West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services. As Commissioner, Mrs. Lawton had responsibility for administration of the Medicaid program in West Virginia. In that capacity, she regularly interacted with federal and state government officials, lawmakers, and healthcare providers, and was instrumental in the development and implementation of healthcare policy in West Virginia. Mrs. Lawton is also a Registered Nurse with more than twenty years of experience.
Mrs. Lawton rejoined the firm as a member in 2001. She primarily practices in the areas of healthcare law, medical malpractice, products liability defense, and nursing home malpractice defense. Mrs. Lawton is uniquely qualified to practice in these areas, given her twenty years' experience as a Registered Nurse and her leadership role in the West Virginia Medicaid program.
Bar Admissions
- West Virginia, 1993
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of West Virginia, 1993
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of West Virginia, 2002
- U.S. Supreme Court, 2004
Education
- Honors: Order of the Coif
- Honors: Patrick Duffy Koontz Award
- West Virginia Law Review, Associate Editor
- B.S.N., magna cum laude, West Virginia University
- A.A., Nursing, University of Charleston (formerly Morris Harvey College)
Professional Associations and Memberships
- West Virginia State Bar (Member, Law and Medicine Committee)
- Kanawha County Bar Association
- Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia
- The American Association of Nurse Attorneys
- Defense Research Institute
- Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honorary
Published Works
- "Facilities Review Panel v. Coe: The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Adopts an Effective Approach to Deciding Pretrial Detention of Accused Juveniles," 95 West Virginia Law Review 505, 1992-1993
Representative Cases
- Harrison v. Davis, 478 S.E.2d 104, 197 WV 651
Classes/Seminars Taught
- "Nursing Law in West Virginia," National Business Institute, 1995
- "Analyzing Medical Records for the West Virginia Paralegal," National Business Institute, 1996
