Alana Kalantzakis
Alana Kalantzakis doesn’t do things halfway. At Southern Methodist University, she majored in English and Spanish and minored in philosophy and psychology. After college, she moved straight on to law school, already sure of what she wanted to do and why. “I believe that everyone deserves a voice in our legal system, and I want my career to help guarantee that right,” Alana says.
Click to read more about Alana Kalantzakis.Allen Vaught
Allen Vaught has more than 12 years of experience working as a litigator on complex, multi-party litigation. Vaught currently manages the Healthcare Third Party Liability Section and the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) Section for Baron & Budd. In addition to his work as an attorney, Vaught also served as member of the Texas House of Representatives and in Operation Iraqi Freedom as a U.S. Army captain.
Click to read more about Allen Vaught.Ann Harper
Ann Harper has spent her career representing workers who have developed mesothelioma and other serious illnesses caused by exposure to asbestos. She is an attorney in Baron & Budd’s settlement department, where she works through the issues necessary to get the firm’s clients compensation in their lawsuits and to pursue their claims through bankruptcy trust funds.
Click to read more about Ann Harper.Bruce Steckler
Bruce W. Steckler is the head of the General Litigation Section of Baron & Budd, P.C. and is spearheading a variety of products liability, class action, mass tort and complex litigation cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Currently, he represents over 700 plaintiffs in the Chinese Drywall Litigation in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, in both individual cases and in class actions.
Click to read more about Bruce Steckler.Bryan Warrick
Attorney Bryan Warrick works with Baron and Budd clients in negotiating the settlement process. Since he joined the settlement group, Warrick has assisted Baron and Budd clients in obtaining compensation through asbestos settlements, verdicts and trusts. Prior to that, he spent a year with Baron and Budd’s asbestos bankruptcy team where he helped asbestos exposure victims in Louisiana receive damages from bankrupt companies.
Click to read more about Bryan Warrick.Burton LeBlanc
J. Burton LeBlanc, IV is known throughout Louisiana as a champion of the people and an advocate for individuals who have been harmed by toxic exposure or workplace hazards. Mr. LeBlanc’s background covers the spectrum of environmental law and securities litigation. He has extensive experience litigating complex cases and has represented the State of Louisiana in cases against the oil and gas industry involving the underpayment of severance taxes and royalties.
Click to read more about Burton LeBlanc.Carla Burke
Carla Burke, an attorney and shareholder with Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation group, began her legal career with the firm’s appellate section. She has a gift for writing and oral advocacy that has been very persuasive in the MTBE Multi-District Litigation cases. Carla has also authored and presented numerous papers and presentations on the topics of toxic tort and water contamination litigation and premises liability law.
Click to read more about Carla Burke.Cary McDougal
Over the nearly two decades that he has practiced law, Cary McDougal has proven to be a formidable trial lawyer with unflinching resolve to serve his clients. Cary has been lead attorney in over 75 jury trials in state and federal court. He has tried cases involving such diverse areas of the law as premises liability, product liability, general personal injury, medical malpractice, insurance litigation, and environmental litigation.
Click to read more about Cary McDougal.Celeste Evangelisti
Celeste Evangelisti is passionate about clean water–so much so that she has devoted the past several years of her career to representing individuals, municipalities, and water suppliers seeking clean-up costs for contamination damaging community water supplies. Hard-driving and tenacious, her legal prowess earned her the honor of being named a “Texas Super Lawyer” (Thompson Reuters, 2003-2005).
Click to read more about Celeste Evangelisti.Chad Cotten
Chad Cotten’s convictions as a lawyer are founded on his resolute belief that the law is the bedrock of civilization and the cornerstone of the democracy in which we live. “The law is how we order society without resorting to violence and brute force. It protects all people, not just those with power,” he says. “Therefore, the law is very important to me, and the best way to participate in the process of law is to practice it.”
Click to read more about Chad Cotten.Christine Tamer
Associate Christine Tamer is the newest addition to Baron & Budd’s asbestos litigation group. Tamer, a 2011 graduate from the University of Texas School of Law, joined Baron & Budd following a summer clerkship with the firm. During her term as a summer associate, Tamer helped draft a brief to the California Court of Appeals. Thanks to Tamer’s work, Baron & Budd attorneys won the appeal and the case was ordered back to the lower court.
Click to read more about Christine Tamer.Christopher Colley
Christopher Colley has dedicated his career to protecting the rights of asbestos victims and seeking compensation for their injuries. Chris worked with the Dallas-based law firm Silber Pearlman until the firm consolidated with Baron & Budd in 2008.
Click to read more about Christopher Colley.Cristina Sanchez
Cristina Sanchez had originally planned on going to medical school, but her work at a small plaintiffs’ firm after college inspired her to instead pursue a career in law. Cristina worked for the same firm while in law school and joined Baron & Budd in 2005. “I came to Baron & Budd because I enjoy doing plaintiffs’ work and wanted to continue doing so. It is also such a great firm that I knew I would learn a lot by working with such experienced and respected attorneys.”
Click to read more about Cristina Sanchez.Dan Alberstone
Dan Alberstone has nearly 30 years of broad experience prosecuting and defending major commercial and complex business litigation matters. Alberstone has been selected as lead trial counsel by both institutional and individual clients in their most significant and high-profile matters, including partnership cases, real estate cases, breach of contract cases, entertainment cases, environmental cases, and cases alleging unfair business practices.
Click to read more about Dan Alberstone.Denyse F. Clancy
Shareholder Denyse Clancy joined the firm in 2004, already an accomplished litigator focusing on injuries caused by exposure to benzene and other toxic solvents and chemicals. In addition to her toxic tort practice, she has litigated medical malpractice, breach of contract, fraud, product defect and personal injury cases, as well as tax matters.
Click to read more about Denyse F. Clancy.Frank C. Fleming
Frank Fleming knew he wanted to be a lawyer based on his father’s example of professionalism and commitment to helping others. He found that being a lawyer gave him the chance to help others with problems that were difficult to understand and resolve on their own. “There’s a real pleasure in being able to take a complicated issue and to break it down into parts that your client can understand,” Frank says.
Click to read more about Frank C. Fleming.Irma Espino
Irma Espino is an attorney with Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation group, where she works primarily with clients who have been harmed by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. In 2004, she left the firm to attend law school, where she received honors in Litigation Skills and Trial Advocacy Program and was a member of the Business Law Review. She rejoined Baron & Budd in 2010.
Click to read more about Irma Espino.J. Todd Kale
J. Todd Kale is a shareholder with Baron & Budd. He joined the firm in 2008 when the firm consolidated with Dallas-based law firm Silber Pearlman. Todd worked with mesothelioma sufferers and other victims of asbestos-related disease at Silber Pearlman from 1993 and continues that work at Baron & Budd.
Click to read more about J. Todd Kale.John Langdoc
John Langdoc is no stranger to the complex medical and scientific issues involved in the cases he tries. He says, “Most lawyers seem to be trained to do everything they can to distort the truth to help their side of the case. No matter how cleverly a lawyer spins things, my belief is that you just can’t cover up the truth.”
Click to read more about John Langdoc.Kelly Reddell
Kelly Reddell, shareholder at Baron & Budd,, joined the firm with a demonstrated commitment to fighting difficult battles for her clients. She represents clients who suffer from silicosis or work-related hearing loss or who have suffered other serious bodily injuries. When a client has been seriously hurt and needs a tenacious advocate, Kelly is ready.
Click to read more about Kelly Reddell.Kevin Colquitt
Kevin Colquitt is an attorney in Baron & Budd’s Qui Tam litigation section, where he works with whistleblowers who come forward to expose fraud against the government. “What I really grew to understand is how important it can be as a whistleblower to have someone to talk to about the lawsuit and what you’re feeling,” says Kevin.
Click to read more about Kevin Colquitt.Laura Baughman
Laura Baughman’s position at Baron & Budd calls upon her to exercise her knowledge as an attorney and a civil engineer. As managing shareholder of the firm’s Qui Tam litigation team, Baughman focuses on strategies to ferret out and litigate against those who have perpetrated fraud against the government.
Click to read more about Laura Baughman.Lindsey Goldstein
Lindsey Goldstein is an attorney with Baron & Budd’s asbestos litigation group, where she works primarily with the firm’s Louisiana mesothelioma and asbestos cancer clients throughout the legal process. While in law school, Goldstein worked at the Legal Aid Board of Durban in Durban, South Africa, where she helped represent impoverished locals who could not afford legal assistance.
Click to read more about Lindsey Goldstein.Mark Pifko
Mark Pifko has made a name for himself as a staunch advocate for consumers’ rights. Since joining Baron and Budd’s Los Angeles office in 2011, Pifko has taken on powerful corporations on cases involving false advertising, fraud and scientific and technical disputes. Pifko’s practice is focused on representing plaintiffs in complex class action matters.
Click to read more about Mark Pifko.Marty Morris
Marty Morris was an attorney with a well-known commercial litigation firm for several years before joining Baron & Budd in 1999. He now works with the firm’s asbestos litigation group, representing people with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases and assisting with the oversight of the firm’s intake department and other firm-wide special projects.
Click to read more about Marty Morris.Mazin Sbaiti
As Of-Counsel to Baron & Budd’s General Litigation Section, Mazin A. Sbaiti helps individuals and small businesses, private investors, public shareholders and government entities. In addition, Mr. Sbaiti has represented class action plaintiffs in antitrust, banking, and internet fraud and breach of contract matters.
Click to read more about Mazin Sbaiti.Mitchell McCrea
Mitchell McCrea is an attorney in Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation group. Mitchell has always been intensely aware of the need for access to clean water. He grew up among farmers and ranchers in southern New Mexico, southern California and southwest Texas, where water was a scarce and precious commodity.
Click to read more about Mitchell McCrea.Natalie Velasco
Natalie Velasco began working part-time as an administrative assistant for another plaintiffs’ law firm when she was just 19 years old. At Silber Pearlman, which has since consolidated with Baron & Budd, Natalie worked in special projects in several parts of the firm. Natalie became intrigued by the litigation process and quickly realized that she had a passion for the practice of law—and in particular, for representing injured workers.
Click to read more about Natalie Velasco.Natasha Mehta
Natasha Mehta is an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Baron and Budd. Her practice includes commercial litigation and class action cases. While completing law school, Ms. Mehta’s interest in international law took her to Tokyo where she studied for a semester at Temple University School of Law’s Japan campus.
Click to read more about Natasha Mehta.Peter Smith
Peter Smith brings a wealth of real estate and commercial expertise to Baron and Budd. Whether it’s representing individuals or corporations in trial or arbitration, Peter works to reach the best solution for his clients. His practice focuses on cases involving property, partnership disputes, fraud, antitrust, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, and copyright.
Click to read more about Peter Smith.Roland Tellis
Roland Tellis co-manages Baron & Budd’s Los Angeles office. His practice focuses on complex, high-profile litigation, including consumer class actions, business torts, environmental contamination cases, securities fraud matters, entertainment cases, and real estate disputes.
Click to read more about Roland Tellis.Russell Budd
Russell W. Budd is a major force in the world of plaintiff’s attorneys, having devoted his three decade career to championing the rights of people and communities injured by corporate malfeasance. Currently Budd presides over one of the nation’s largest plaintiff’s firms, Baron & Budd, PC, headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Click to read more about Russell Budd.Scott Summy
Scott Summy is a shareholder at Baron & Budd, one of the largest and oldest firms in the United States that practices environmental litigation. Mr. Summy heads up the firm’s Water Contamination Practice Group, whose practice is dedicated to complex water contamination cases all over the country.
Click to read more about Scott Summy.Stephen Johnston
A hard-working and determined advocate, shareholder Stephen Johnston has served Baron & Budd clients since 1997. Stephen puts his degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences to good use as an attorney with the firm’s water contamination litigation section, representing individuals and communities seeking clean-up costs for contaminated water supplies. He also served for several years in the law firm’s asbestos litigation group.
Click to read more about Stephen Johnston.Steve Baron
Baron & Budd shareholder Steve Baron is an accomplished litigator known for his tenacity in pursuing justice for victims of corporate misconduct.Baron leads one of the nations’ most aggressive litigation teams, representing clients in cases with some of the largest verdicts and settlements for people with mesothelioma and asbestos diseases as well as those who have been harmed by unsafe pharmaceuticals.
Click to read more about Steve Baron.Thomas Sims
Thomas M. Sims has spent much of his career at Baron & Budd litigating complex environmental cases ranging from water contamination to air pollution. Though he has recently expanded his practice to represent public entities in hotel occupancy tax cases and whistleblowers under the state and federal claims act, Sims continues to work on serious environmental cases such as the Gulf Coast Oil Spill.
Click to read more about Thomas Sims.Tiffany Dickenson
Tiffany Dickenson, a shareholder who joined Baron & Budd’s asbestos litigation section in 2000, finds a great deal of satisfaction “representing hard working men and women who were injured just doing their jobs against the corporate interests responsible for their exposure to toxic substances. I came to work for Baron & Budd because they fight to save people’s lives,” she says.
Click to read more about Tiffany Dickenson.