Baron & Budd is proud to have a long legacy of giving back to the community. Whether it’s helping in the fight against cancers like mesothelioma, aiding in the global battle against asbestos, or working to preserve our civil liberties, Baron & Budd remains at the forefront of important issues that impact Americans every day. We know that by supporting these non-profit organizations, we can help make a difference outside of the courtroom.
We support several national non-profit organizations, both through donations and service. These organizations include:
Public Justice Foundation
In 2006, Baron & Budd attorneys were honored with Public Justice’s “Trial Lawyer of the Year” award for our work on a groundwater contamination case in Tucson, Arizona. The award recognizes the trial attorney or attorneys who have made the most significant contribution to the public interest by successfully resolving a precedent-setting case or group of related cases.
The American Association for Justice (AAJ)
The American Association for Justice is the world’s largest, and most multi-layered, trial bar, helping to provide trial attorneys with the support and network they need to successfully represent their clients. Its mission is to support a fair and effective justice system and to help attorneys represent individuals who have been wronged, even if they were wronged by one of the most powerful interest or businesses.
Several of our attorneys have served on the local and national levels of AAJ, from vice president to president-elect to parliamentarian and have also been members of AAJ’s Executive Committee, Board of Trustees and Board of Governors.
Baron & Budd’s president and managing shareholder Russell Budd served on AAJ’s Board of Governors and was awarded the prestigious Harry M. Philo Award Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from AAJ. The award was presented in recognition of his dedicated and consistent leadership in protecting the rights of individuals though the civil justice system. Russell Budd was also awarded the Wiedemann Wysocki National Finance Council Award from AAJ, an award that honors attorneys for their efforts to improve the civil justice system.
Baron & Budd shareholder Burton LeBlanc was honored to serve as the AAJ president for the 2013 year term. During his term, Burton LeBlanc helped AAJ fight a dangerous proposal to change the rules of discovery, spearheaded the Take Justice Back grassroots campaign to fight forced arbitration and helped to create several legal principles to help effectively reform the Toxic Substance Control Act in order to better protect Americans from dangerous chemicals.
While Baron & Budd is a nationally-recognized law firm with headquarters in Dallas, Texas and additional offices in Baton Rouge and Los Angeles, we are also committed to serving our local communities through donations and community service including:
The Budd Center
Founded by the firm’s president in 2014, the Budd Center is an unprecedented initiative that partners the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) with other non-profits to help underprivileged children in West Dallas get the tools they need to better their lives and help themselves and their families exit poverty. The initiative utilizes extensive data to spark significant change in these children’s’ lives; through addressing all issues that may arise or hurt their development, the Budd Center helps children achieve academic success no matter how disenfranchised their background. The Budd Center includes these services: housing, healthcare, safety, nutrition, counseling and legal services.
The aim of the Budd Center is to one day bring the center’s powerful, life-altering methodologies to underprivileged children across the country, helping to create a nationwide shift in the way the most disenfranchised Americans are treated. One day, all under-served communities may have an initiative like the Budd Center that helps poor students in all aspects of their life get the education and support they need to bring themselves and their families out of poverty — that blueprint for necessary change starts with the Budd Center.
Genesis Women’s Shelter
Genesis Women’s Shelter is a women and children’s shelter serving the Dallas community that is engaged in raising awareness about domestic violence and abuse and helping countless women and their children escape dangerous home environments to build new lives. Genesis has found that one of the largest things keeping battered women in dangerous settings is the lack of resources, funds and education available to many women in dangerous settings. The shelter provides a 24-Hour Help Hotline, emergency shelter, transitional housing, day care, counseling, classes job readiness and provides domestic violence education.
Baron & Budd serves as a financial supporter of Genesis Women’s Shelter and attends their annual luncheon to help raise money for the shelter.
Dallas Child Advocacy Center
The Dallas Child Advocacy Center is a non-profit serving sexually abused children in Dallas, their average client is a 9 to 10 year-old girl who was hurt by someone she knew. The center helps to quickly investigate potential cases of child abuse, provide protection for the child and their family members from further abuse and aid the child and their family with specialized counseling. In addition, the Dallas Child Advocacy Center is a national advocate for child abuse issues. Baron & Budd donates to the Dallas Child Advocacy Center annually.
Attorneys Serving the Community (ASC)
Attorneys Serving the Community (ASC) is a non-profit composed of female attorneys committed to using their skills and resources to work with various non-profits in the community that better the lives of women, children and families. Baron & Budd is a financial contributor to the nonprofit and several of Baron & Budd’s female attorneys volunteer their services to the non-profit.