DALLAS, TX (Oct. 28, 2008) Baron & Budd shareholder Scott Summy has been selected as one of the Lawdragon 500. In this fourth annual list of “the nation’s top lawyers,” Lawdragon establishes “the standard for the best of the legal profession” from every arena—private attorneys, public interest lawyers, government lawyers, in-house counsel, judges and law professors.

Scott Summy leads Baron & Budd’s water contamination practice, which is among the largest in the nation. For more than thirteen years, Summy has fought the oil industry to protect America’s groundwater. In 1995, he successfully filed and litigated the nation’s first water contamination case involving MTBE—a gasoline additive. Earlier this year, Summy negotiated a national settlement on behalf of more than 150 water providers from 17 states to fund the clean up of MTBE contamination in public drinking water. Summy’s water contamination team also represents clients in other water pollution cases involving TCP, atrazine and TCE.

The selection process for the Lawdragon 500 involves both online voting from others in the legal profession and independent research by Lawdragon’s own staff, who interview thousands of attorneys to get first-hand evaluations of prominent lawyers. The publication reported that a record number of participants voted this year. After carefully considering the votes received, as well as research into each attorneys recent cases and activity, the Lawdragon 500 are named.

About Baron and Budd, P.C.

For more than 30 years, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With more than 50 attorneys and offices in California, Texas and Louisiana, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs’ bar, a reputation that will only be enhanced by this year’s NLJ Hot List recognition. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos; injuries caused by other toxic substances and unsafe pharmaceuticals; water authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination; government entities and whistleblowers fighting corporate fraud through Qui Tam and False Claims Act cases; securities investors defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers in class actions and bad faith insurance litigation.