Baron & Budd is best known for its asbestos work but its interests run much broader than that; the firm recently has been involved in fights over diabetes drugs and financial fraud, for example. “We’re certainly in the top tier of firms that have the widest range of types of cases,” managing shareholder Russell Budd said.
Baron & Budd reached some of its biggest settlements on behalf of state attorneys general, including more than $40 million for Hawaii, Mississippi and West Virginia, which had accused major banks including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. of charging excessive overdraft fees. It obtained $177 million in 2013 on behalf of seven states that sued GlaxoSmithKline PLC over its marketing of Avandia, a diabetes drug linked to heart problems. The states had opted out of an earlier $90 million deal involving 37 states.
