Cavanagh, Elisabeth Hessler

Mr. Cate is a litigation attorney in the firm’s Northwest Arkansas office.  His practice focuses primarily on complex business litigation, ERISA benefits litigation, eminent domain litigation, products liability litigation, and appeals.  He has participated in numerous ERISA proceedings, fifteen trials, and handled appeals in both state and federal court.  His practice has also included a broad range of matters, including media law, First Amendment law, outdoor-advertising law, election law, and real estate disputes.  Recently, he represented a natural gas pipeline company in securing through eminent domain a pipeline right-of-way covering the distance of one-half of the State of Arkansas.

While attending Vanderbilt University, Mr. Cate worked part-time for the Tennessee General Assembly’s Senate Judiciary Committee, from 1997 to 1998.  He assisted in drafting and assessing proposed legislation.  After graduating cum laude from Vanderbilt, he attended the University of Arkansas School of Law, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Arkansas Law Review, from 2000 to 2001.  After graduating summa cum laude from law school, he was a law clerk to the Honorable G. Thomas Eisele, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, from 2001 to 2003.  He is licensed to practice law in the States of Arkansas and Tennessee, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and Sixth Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee.  Mr. Cate was selected as a Rising Star in the area of Employee Benefits/ERISA by Mid-South Super Lawyers for the years 2008 – 2010, and named a Future Star in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation for 2012.