Gulf Oil Spill Legal Team
Russell Budd
Russell Budd, president and managing shareholder of Baron & Budd, has expanded the firm from its cornerstone asbestos practice to a national law firm capable of tackling complex cases in areas as diverse as water contamination, insurance fraud, Gulf oil spill litigation, California Proposition 65 violations and other environmental cases. Budd serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and, in 2010, Budd received the prestigious Harry M. Philo Award from the AAJ for his dedication and consistent leadership in protecting the right of individuals in the public justice system. Under Budd’s direction, Baron & Budd has won numerous awards and has been named to the National Law Journal’s plaintiffs’ “Hot List” for six years. Read more here.
Scott Summy
Scott Summy, head of Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation section, was selected to serve on the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC) in the Gulf oil spill multi-district litigation (MDL). Summy also served as co-lead counsel and treasurer of the PSC in the MTBE multi-district litigation, where he represented more than 150 public water systems in 17 states whose groundwater was contaminated by Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Summy was instrumental in negotiating a more than $450 million settlement to compensate public water systems for their MTBE contamination and help pay future clean-up costs. Read more here.
Burton LeBlanc
Burton LeBlanc is the head of Baron & Budd’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana office. A Louisiana native, LeBlanc and Baron & Budd have been retained by the state of Louisiana to provide counsel to the state’s designated Trustees in connection with issues related to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and resulting oil spill. LeBlanc currently serves as Secretary of the American Association of Justice (AAJ) and is a two-time recipient of the organization’s prestigious Wiedemann Wysocki National Finance Council Award. Read more here.
Carla Burke
Carla Burke is a shareholder with the firm’s water contamination litigation group. She began her career working in the firm’s appellate section, honing her skills in complex legal research before moving into water contamination to defend individuals and water providers who have been harmed by contaminated groundwater. She also worked on the national MTBE settlement. Read more here.
Cary McDougal
Cary McDougal, shareholder and manager of Baron & Budd’s water contamination litigation group, has been the lead attorney in more than 75 jury trials in state and federal court. He manages the firm’s cases in the national MTBE multi-district litigation, the gulf oil spill, and other environmental contamination cases involving chemicals such as TCP, TCE and Atrazine. Read more here.
Irma Espino
Irma Espino is an attorney with the firm’s water contamination litigation section, where she works primarily with clients who have been harmed by the Gulf oil spill. During her practice, she has successfully litigated a number of business disputes. Read more here.
Mitchell McCrea
Mitchell McCrea works with Baron & Budd’s water contamination clients in cases involving Atrazine, MTBE and other harmful chemicals. Most recently, he has become involved in the firm’s work battling BP in the Gulf oil spill litigation. Read more here.
Cristina Sanchez
Cristina Sanchez, an attorney with the firm’s water contamination group, has worked with numerous municipalities and public water providers throughout the country on complex water contamination cases. She worked on the MTBE MDL settlement and has been involved in litigation surrounding the Gulf oil spill, Atrazine and other water contamination areas. Read more here.
Thomas Sims
Thomas Sims, an attorney who works on many of the firm’s environmental cases, serves on the American Association for Justice’s ad hoc committee on the BP Fund and the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). In 2009, Sims represented Hurricane Katrina victims in a five-week non-jury trial, which led to a decision to hold the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers accountable for mismanagement of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO) during Hurricane Katrina and the flooding it caused in certain areas of New Orleans. Read more here.
