Attorney Profiles

Biography

It was not a coincidence that Laurie Meggesin joined Baron & Budd straight out of law school in 1995. While working in the field of social services and non-profit management in Dallas, Laurie was intrigued by several cases in the press—all of which were handled by Baron & Budd—involving workers and residents of low income communities who had been injured by exposure to environmental contamination. One of the cases involved lead contamination affecting hundreds of children in impoverished West Dallas, a community she also served. "There was a young woman who had repeatedly failed to test into the GED program I coordinated, no matter how much tutoring and support we gave her," Laurie recalls. "At one point she looked at me wistfully and said, 'I know I have brain damage because of the lead I grew up around.'" It was then that Laurie started thinking she could accomplish more for people as an attorney than as a social services provider; she enrolled in law school at the age of 31.

A former shareholder with the firm, Laurie currently assists with case evaluation and writing projects. Originally an attorney with the firm's Appellate Section, Laurie has briefed and argued appeals in Texas and Louisiana. Because of her career accomplishments, she was named a Texas Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Media and Texas Monthly magazine in 2004, 2005, and 2006. She has also devoted considerable time to providing legal services pro bono, including representing the family of a victim of the 9-11 terrorist attacks through the non-profit legal services organization, Trial Lawyers Care. She has also provided volunteer legal services through the Dallas Volunteer Attorney Program sponsored by the Dallas Bar Association. For her pro bono service, she was named a member of the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas in 2003 and 2004.

In addition to her pro bono activities, Laurie has served on the boards of non-profit organizations, including Dallas SER—Jobs for Progress, Inc.; the Women's Advocacy Project; and Texas Law Fellowships, Inc., for which she was president while in law school. She has also volunteered through Big Brothers and Sister of Dallas, Habitat for Humanity, the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, the Dallas Coalition for the Homeless, The United Way, and other organizations. In law school, she was an administrative editor of the Texas International Law Journal and a member of the Board of Advocates.

Laurie enjoys the intellectual challenges provided by the practice of law, but most of all, she values serving Baron & Budd's clients. I am inspired daily by the strength of character and fortitude of our clients, she says. I can't imagine serving a more deserving group of people, who face almost unimaginable hardships and disease through no fault of their own.