Well-known Civil Liberties Defender to Promote Diversity And the Vital Role

                             of Trial Attorneys



    DALLAS, July 21 /EMWNews/ -- At its recent annual meeting in

Philadelphia, longtime political activist and plaintiffs' attorney Burton

LeBlanc of Baron & Budd, P.C. was elected Parliamentarian, a national

office of the American Association for Justice (AAJ), announced the firm

today.



    "I am proud to be a trial lawyer," said LeBlanc, "and I look forward to

showing our detractors how effective and vital we are to defending the

American people's civil liberties."



    LeBlanc is a co-founder of LeBlanc & Waddell, one of the largest

plaintiffs' firms in Louisiana prior to its recent merger with Dallas-based

Baron & Budd. He is the immediate past-president of the Louisiana

Association for Justice and a member of the AAJ Board of Governors and

Executive Committee. In 2007, the AAJ presented LeBlanc with the Wiedemann

Wysocki National Finance Council Award, which honors attorneys for their

commitment to the legal profession and support for improving the civil

justice system.



    LeBlanc has played an active role in fighting specific tort reform

efforts in Congress, participating in numerous lobbying activities with AAJ

staff and traveling frequently to Washington to meet with members of

Congress. LeBlanc has also provided substantial support to political

candidates as a fundraiser and the co-chair of AAJ's Committee For a Better

Future.



    As counsel to the Louisiana AFL-CIO and the Louisiana N.A.A.C.P.,

LeBlanc is also committed to working with the minority and women's caucuses

of the AAJ to promote greater diversity in its membership.



    "We're very excited about the work that Burton will be doing," said

Russell Budd, managing shareholder of Baron & Budd. "It is only through AAJ

and our state trial lawyer associations that we can effectively defend our

civil justice system."



    In his hometown of Baton Rouge, LeBlanc served as the president of the

Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge and the Finance Chairman of the

Louisiana Democratic Party.

    About Baron & 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. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and

other diseases caused by asbestos; leukemia caused by benzene; 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.






     Contact: Susan Jones Knape

                   214/523-6226

           [email protected]



               Christal Karnaze

                   703/615-5763

        [email protected]