Several years back, I was able to watch Weitz & Luxenberg in action. I was incredibly moved by their team’s advocacy and expertise in representing their client. W&L is a powerhouse for regular people. I didn’t know then that I would later be asked to join their firm. And now — to be here — is exhilarating. W&L’s goals and values align with my own, and I am honored to join in the efforts to help people who have been so grievously harmed by the actions of others.”
Kate Mercer-Lawson brings more than a decade of litigation experience to the Environmental, Toxic Tort & Consumer Protection team at Weitz & Luxenberg. During her legal career, she has handled a wide variety of cases — including toxic torts (asbestos, PCBs, PFAS), stray voltage, other agricultural and environmental issues, catastrophic injuries, products liability, Section 1983, and whistleblowing. Her science background gives her the extra edge to tackle new and challenging areas of law.
Ms. Mercer-Lawson is currently handling Weitz & Luxenberg’s most pressing environmental cases. However, with her diverse background, we expect her to jump in at a moment’s notice to assist with any number of our litigation practice areas — including asbestos, dangerous drugs, defective medical devices, and general negligence. Where there’s a trial, Ms. Mercer-Lawson stands ready to assist.
Looking at Litigation from Both Sides
Ms. Mercer-Lawson was a defense attorney for roughly a decade and appreciates the tremendous insight she gained working for a national corporate law firm. However, she laughs as she admits, “I finally saw the light. I took a good look at the work I was doing and realized I needed to make a change. Fighting for regular people, doing plaintiffs’ work, is what I was meant to be doing all along.”
Because of her corporate defense work, Ms. Mercer-Lawson knows exactly how companies and their lawyers strategize. She served on SWAT teams for major manufacturers, directed their trial strategies, and handled high-value mediations for years. She has taken hundreds of depositions, prepared company witnesses, and presented company narratives in courts across the country. Now, she is thrilled to put that insight to work for our clients.
Her Path to Healing and Helping Clients
In recounting her experience, Ms. Mercer-Lawson explains, “I’ve always had so many interests, and my journey hasn’t been linear. In fact, I didn’t start out wanting to be an attorney. Healing is where my heart was.”
After her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Ms. Mercer-Lawson felt drawn to medical school and attended the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis for two years. There, while earning honors, she researched cancer mortality and participated in multiple educational outreach programs for young students.
As an undergraduate, she majored in chemistry and religious studies. She also volunteered considerably, doing hospice and emergency room work, and she worked and studied in England, Greece, Croatia, and Australia. And while in her graduate program for health administration, she worked for a statewide patient safety center.
All of Ms. Mercer-Lawson’s experiences have brought her full circle to doing something she truly loves — being an attorney. Helping people is always where she was headed even though she traveled a circuitous route.
Her life motto was coined by humorist and writer Erma Bombeck: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything You gave me.’” Ms. Mercer-Lawson walks the walk, channeling that energy into giving her clients top-notch representation.
Legal Background and Credentials
Ms. Mercer-Lawson is licensed to practice law in multiple venues. She is admitted to the bar in Colorado, Indiana, Utah, Wisconsin, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Before she entered private practice, Ms. Mercer-Lawson completed two prestigious clerkships: two years with now-Chief Judge Jerome A. Holmes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, after two years with Judge Sarah Evans Barker in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. While in law school, she externed with Judge David Hamilton in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Ms. Mercer-Lawson entered legal practice in 2011 after earning her J.D., summa cum laude, from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. There, she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Indiana Law Review and an active instructor for the Dean’s Tutorial Society. She was awarded the Faculty Prize at graduation for exemplary academics, leadership, and service. In 2012, she earned a Master of Hospital Administration, also summa cum laude, from the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA from Indiana University-Bloomington, attending as a Wells Scholar.
Other experiences include teaching judicial politics and criminal law as an adjunct professor at Indiana University and working for Indiana’s Pink Ribbon Connection (breast cancer organization) as an event planner and volunteer coordinator.
Outside of Work
Ms. Mercer-Lawson is devoted to her family. She loves running, reading, dogs, and international travel. In addition, she is passionate about mentoring others, which she has done over the years with the Starfish Initiative, Law School . . . Yes We Can, the American Bar Association, and various formal mentoring programs.