Baron & Budd Recognized Among 2024 AAJ Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award Recipients

Baron & Budd was honored for its role in the Plaintiffs Executive Committee in the nationwide opioid litigation.

DALLAS – The nationally recognized law firm Baron & Budd is honored to be among those recognized by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) with the prestigious 2024 Steven J. Sharp Public Service Award for the firm’s role on the Plaintiff Executive Committee (PEC) for the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL 2804.

Opioids have devasted many Americans and their families, with a rise in opioid addiction and opioid-related overdoses continuing to be one of the leading causes of death. The opioid crisis is one of the most significant public health issues in the nation. The National Prescription Opiate Litigation is the response of a coalition of legal teams working together to represent public entities to combat one of the country’s most troublesome issues. The settlements obtained from the litigation will help communities around the country address the crisis through prevention, education, harm reduction, and treatment.

Baron & Budd shareholders Russell Budd, Burton LeBlanc, Mark Pifko, Roland Tellis, Chris Mansour, and Catherine Hancock Dorsey were key members of the leadership team serving in various roles from negotiation, state liaison, RICO, and the law and briefing committees of the extremely complex litigation. President and Managing Shareholder Russell Budd was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Settlement Negotiation Team for the National Prescription Opiate Litigation. Budd and the Settlement Negotiation Team have been responsible for negotiating nearly $60 billion in settlements with the nation’s largest and most prominent drug distributors, manufacturers, and dispensers.

“We are honored to be part of this exceptional team of attorneys who have collaboratively worked on this litigation to hold these companies accountable for the harm they have caused to our country. The opioid multidistrict litigation is one of the most complex cases in our nation’s history, and our success would not have been possible without the relentless dedication and hard work of everyone involved,” said Budd.

The AAJ Steven J. Sharp Public Service award recognizes litigation by plaintiffs and plaintiff attorneys that has created a lasting change in corporate conduct. The award is named after a young man who was severely injured, losing both of his arms due to a defective hay baler. Despite knowing the defects of the machine, the manufacturer did nothing to resolve the problem. Steven spoke before Congress, which was about to pass legislation that would prevent most product liability cases from going to court, denying victims their right to obtain justice. The legislation did not move forward, allowing victims to seek justice when they are harmed by corporate wrongdoing.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.

With more than 40 years of experience, Baron & Budd has the expertise and resources to handle complex litigation throughout the United States. As a law firm that takes pride in remaining at the forefront of litigation, Baron & Budd has spearheaded many significant cases for hundreds of public entities and tens of thousands of individuals. Since the firm was founded in 1977, Baron & Budd has achieved substantial national acclaim for its work on cutting-edge litigation, trying hundreds of cases to verdict and settling tens of thousands of cases in areas of litigation as diverse and significant as dangerous and highly addictive pharmaceuticals, defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, wildfires, environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, e-cigarettes, motor vehicles, federal whistleblower cases, and other consumer fraud issues.