If around in the 1990s, you might remember the jockeying among law firms that went on in the months leading up to the state’s multibillion tobacco litigation. Every major plaintiff’s firm in the state—and plenty of national firms, too—competed for a piece of the action, while smaller practices worked deals to get hired on with whatever consortium of firms was ultimately selected.
A version of that dynamic is currently playing out in Baton Rouge as several firms are competing to represent city-parish government in what could be a potentially very lucrative opioid abuse case.
Earlier this fall, Mayor Sharon Weston Broome said she supports having Baton Rouge join a lawsuit against major drug distributors, following the lead of dozens of municipalities and states across the country in litigating the opioid epidemic.
After vetting several firms with the Parish Attorney’s Office, the administration is asking the council to approve a contract with Baron & Budd of Dallas. The decision is not sitting well with the lobbyists and consultants hired to represent some of the other firms in the hunt. They’ve been meeting with council members to lobby against Baron & Budd, which some have suggested is politically tied to the Broome administration, while other complain because the firm is not local.
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