Katelyn Ashton

Partner Litigation

Nashville +1 629 222 0115

Practices

Overview

Katelyn Ashton is a litigation partner in the Nashville office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Katelyn’s practice focuses on representing manufacturers in complex product liability and mass tort litigation.

Katelyn has experience defending some of the largest and most complex mass torts and MDLs in the country, including surgical mesh, military earplugs and PFAS. Her practice spans nearly every stage of litigation, including written discovery, plaintiff and witness depositions, pre-trial motion practice, and pre-trial and on-site trial support for lead trial and appellate trial counsel.

The Best Lawyers in America® selected Katelyn as one of its “Ones to Watch” for Health Care Law and Product Liability Litigation, and Super Lawyers® has recognized her as a Mid-South “Rising Star.” She is admitted to practice in all Tennessee state courts, the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Katelyn was involved in the following representative matters:

  • Member of the motions and case work-up teams in Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson’s pelvic mesh products liability litigation.
  • Member of various case work-up and motions teams for chemical manufacturer defending thousands of PFAS environmental and product liability claims.
  • Represented manufacturer in securing dismissal of all claims in a personal injury action involving a cosmetic treatment device that uses controlled cooling to reduce fat cells.
  • Member of various trial-support teams for multinational manufacturing company defending product liability claims related to its herbicide.
  • Member of the national coordinating counsel motions team for a multinational manufacturing company concerning the sale of allegedly defective earplugs to the military.
  • University of Mississippi Medical Center vs. Mississippi Center for Advanced Medicine, P.C., et al., (S.D. Miss. 2024) – member of trial team that secured favorable settlement the morning of jury selection.
  • Dandy v. Ethicon, Inc. et al., (D.N.J. 2023) – served as on-site trial support; defense verdict.

Judicial Law ClerkHonorable S. Thomas AndersonUnited States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee2018–2019

Butler Snow LLP

More

Thought Leadership

Publications

Co-Author, “Tracked Into Court: The Utility, Discovery and Admissibility of Wearable Device Data,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 18, No. 2, August 2025

Co-Author, “The Wearable Revolution: How to Use Personal Health Device Data in Litigation,” 2024 Litigation Update: Navigating Emerging Trends and Technology, March 2024

Co-Author, “Time on Your Side: Bifurcated Trials on the Statute of Limitations,” American Bar Association, Mass Torts Litigation, Vol. 21, Issue 3, Spring 2023

Co-Author, “The Wearable Witness: Utilizing Apple Watch Data in Civil Litigation,” DRI For the Defense, October 2022

Co-Author, “Out of Time: Bifurcating the Statute of Limitations,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 14, No. 4, December 2021

Co-Author, “Discovering Third-Party Litigation Financing,” The Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 2, Summer 2021

Author, “50-State Survey of Statutes of Limitations and Repose in Prescription Product Liability Cases,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 13, No. 4, November 2020

Co-Author, “Discoverability of Third-Party Litigation Financing,” Pro Te: Solutio, Vol. 13, No. 2, June 2020

Speaking Engagements

Presenter, “Effectively Cross-Examining Expert Witnesses,” National Business Institute: Evidence Foundations and Objections: Cheat Sheets and Demonstrations for Trial Lawyers, January 2026

Panelist, “Defending Lawsuits Involving Third-Party Litigation Funding,” Strafford, A BARBRI Company, December 2025

Panelist, “Future Leaders Mock Trial Update,” Product Liability Advisory Council’s Fall Conference, October 2025

Presenter, “Update: Public Nuisance Claims in Products Liability Litigation,” PLAC Future Leaders Forum, June 2025

Presenter, “Attorneys’ Fees: The American Rule, Exceptions and Effective Recovery,” MyLawCLE, February 2025

Presenter, “How Marketing and Public Perception Play into Trial Strategy,” Trial Attorneys of America Annual Meeting, June 2024

Presenter, “Litigation Funding and Its Impact on the Justice System,” Trial Attorneys of America 51st Annual Meeting, June 2022

Panelist, “Discovery of Litigation Funding and What to Do With It,” American Property Casualty Insurance Association Virtual National General Counsel Conference, September 2021

Recognition

The Best Lawyers in America®

  • Ones to Watch for Health Care Law, 2024–2026
  • Ones to Watch for Product Liability Litigation – Defendants, 2024–2026

Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®

  • Mid-South Rising Star, Health Care, 2023–2025

Memberships & Affiliations

Product Liability Advisory Council

  • Future Leaders Program
  • Third Party Litigation Task Force

Trial Attorneys of America

Defense Research Institute (DRI)

Federal Bar Association

Tennessee Bar Association

American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • 2018Tennessee

Courts

  • United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee

Education

  • Savannah Law SchoolJ.D.magna cum laude

    Moot Court Honor Board

    Editor-in-Chief, Savannah Law Review

    President, Student Bar Association

  • Freed-Hardeman UniversityB.S., Criminal Justicesumma cum laude