Jennifer Fountain Connolly Joins Baron & Budd, P.C.

New Shareholder Brings Decades of Multi-State Class Action, Qui Tam Expertise to Firm

WASHINGTON — Today, the national law firm of Baron & Budd announced that Jennifer Fountain Connolly has joined its Washington D.C. office as a shareholder. Connolly brings more than 20 years of experience leading national, complex litigation including antitrust cases, pharmaceutical and consumer class actions, qui tam lawsuits and cases brought by state attorneys general and other governmental entities.

Currently, Connolly represents, and leads litigation on behalf of, the states of Ohio, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana in their cases against manufacturers and distributors of opioids.

Throughout the past 10 years, Connolly has held leadership roles on many of the nation’s largest and most significant pharmaceutical class actions and state attorney general cases. Her leadership in litigation against McKesson Corporation, alleging the company engaged in a scheme that raised the prices of more than 400 brand name drugs, resulted in a $350 million private class action settlement as well as an $82 million settlement for municipalities throughout the United States. Additionally, Connolly was a member of the team that successfully tried the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) litigation against four pharmaceutical defendants, obtaining a verdict that was subsequently affirmed in all respects by the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

“I am extremely pleased that Jennifer has joined our Washington D.C. office. Her experience leading national, high-stakes qui tam cases and pharmaceutical class actions is a perfect complement to many of our team’s practice areas, including our work representing hundreds of municipalities across the country that are battling the opioid epidemic,” said Baron & Budd’s President and Managing Shareholder, Russell Budd. “Throughout her career, Jennifer has demonstrated that she is a proven relationship builder who truly understands not only how to effectively manage engagements with public entities of all sizes, but also how to manage and mentor new attorneys. I’m confident that Jennifer will continue to be a powerful advocate for Baron & Budd’s clients and a go-to leader at our firm.”

Prior to joining Baron & Budd, Connolly was a partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, where she led the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Before joining Hagens Berman, she was a partner at Wexler Wallace LLP where she led litigation of complex class actions, including cases challenging pharmaceutical pricing fraud, off-label marketing, and anticompetitive delay of entry of generic prescription drugs. Earlier in her career, she practiced at a Denver-based litigation boutique that is now a part of Sherman & Howard, and served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Business Regulation Unit of the Colorado Attorney General’s office.

ABOUT BARON & BUDD, P.C.

Baron & Budd, P.C. is among the largest and most accomplished plaintiffs’ law firms in the country. 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 entities and 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 as dangerous pharmaceuticals and defective medical devices, asbestos and mesothelioma, environmental contamination, fraudulent banking practices, motor vehicles, employment, and other consumer fraud issues.