Lorrie Hargrove brings 30 years of nationwide litigation experience to her practice, developed since the early ’90s when Alabama was known as “tort hell.” She is a seasoned trial attorney who has handled a wide range of complex cases, including class actions, civil RICO, appellate matters, and higher education and corporate disputes.
Lorrie is especially known for taking on high-stakes litigation that others avoid—she once secured a defense verdict in a two-week federal antitrust trial in a “bet the company” case. Lorrie also obtained summary judgment in favor of an international client against a plaintiff making civil RICO claims and seeking over $2 billion. She more recently defended a Higher Ed institution in a matter involving three separate class actions and individual cases filed on behalf of almost a thousand plaintiffs.
Her national practice includes defending class and mass actions in federal and state courts throughout the country. She has won class-related appeals in the Second, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits. Lorrie has defended Fortune 500 companies and Higher Ed institutions in thousands of class and mass action and class action opt-out cases nationwide.
In recent years, Lorrie has focused increasingly on litigation in the higher education space. She joined Thompson Coburn LLP to collaborate with the firm’s nationally respected Higher Ed team, where her courtroom experience complements the firm’s regulatory, transactional, and lobbying capabilities. Lorrie writes and speaks frequently on legal issues facing colleges and universities and enjoys helping institutions navigate today’s evolving legal landscape.
Lorrie previously practiced at two full-service law firms and clerked for the Honorable William M. Acker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
experience
- Successfully defeated plaintiff’s motion to remand a nationwide class action in Racca v. Efg. Gen. Partner Corp. Educ. Futures Mgmt., Co., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 127738 (E.D. Tex. July 7, 2022)
- Successfully defeated a nationwide class certification motion in Roberts v. Garrison Property and Casualty Ins. Co., No. 2:19cv1232 (D. Ariz.) April 7, 2021
- Successfully obtained an order denying class certification in a case making ERISA claims in Crosby v. California Physicians’ Service, et al., 498 F. Supp. 3d 1218, 2020 WL 6535790 (C.D. Cal. Nov. 2, 2020)
- Successfully obtained order dismissing purported nationwide class action claims in Miller v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 2019 WL 4450637 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2019)
- Successfully obtained order granting renewed motion to compel arbitration and to strike plaintiff’s class action claims in Garcia v. Willis Stein & Partners, L.L.C., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 241749 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2019)
- Successful petition for writ of mandamus as to denied summary judgment order in wrongful death action in Ex parte Continental Motors, Inc., 270 So. 3d 1148 (Ala. 2018)
- Successfully obtained order staying discovery pending the court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss a purported nationwide class action in Weaver v. National Better Living Association, 2014 WL 1621951 (N.D. Ala. April 22, 2014)
- Successfully obtained reversal of trial court’s order certifying a nationwide class action in data breach case in Bliss & Glennon, Inc. v. Ashley, 420 S.W. 3d 379 (Tex. App. – Hous. (1 Dist.), Jan. 7, 2014)
- Successfully obtained vacatur of district court’s order dismissing the motion to compel arbitration in CMH Homes, Inc. v. Goodner, 729 F. 3d 832, 2013 WL 4749906 (8th Cir. Sept. 5, 2013)
- Successfully obtained approval of nationwide class action settlement and defeated objector in In re Southwest Airlines Voucher Litig., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120735 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 26, 2013)
- Successfully obtained district court’s order granting client’s motion to strike plaintiff’s nationwide class action in Lawson v. Life of the South Insurance Company, 286 F.R.D. 689 (M.D. Ga. Sept. 28, 2012), and successfully defeated appeal of that order in Lawson v. Life of the South Insurance Company, No. 12-90036-A (11th Cir. Dec. 7, 2012) (denying plaintiff’s Rule 23(f) petition for permission to appeal)
- Successfully obtained reversal of jury verdict for borrowers on RICO/fraud/statutory claims and judgment for lender in Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. v. Flores, 692 F. 3d 358 (5th Cir. Aug. 23, 2012)
- Successfully defeated nationwide class action claims in Bishop’s Prop. & Investments v. Protective Life Insurance Co., 255 F.R.D. 619 (M.D. Ga. 2009)
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (by BL Rankings), since 2024
- Co-author, “Arbitrations and Class Actions” chapter in A Practitioner’s Guide to Class Actions, Second and Third Editions
American Bar Association - Co-author, “The Extraterritorial Defense: A Border to RICO Claims Arising from International Transactions”
Defense Counsel Journal
- Presenter, “Federal Update: Regulatory Developments, Judicial & Legislative Impacts”
State Authorization Network (SAN), Open Forum, August 2025 - Presenter, “Higher Education Litigation Roundtable: Legal Trends, Key Cases, and Strategic Guidance”
Midwestern Higher Education Compact, M-SARA Annual Meeting, June 2025 - Presenter, “Higher Ed, the Judiciary, and the Trump Administration: Where are the Courts Going?”
Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities Council on Governmental Affairs, Spring Meeting, June 2025 - Presenter, “Navigating the Evolving Legal Landscape in Higher Education”
Council for Christian Colleges & Universities Virtual Training, March 2025