J. Burton Leblanc IV

Baron & Budd shareholder, Burton LeBlanc, is a powerhouse advocate for individuals who have been harmed by corporate wrongdoing, having begun his legal career representing victims of toxic exposure and workplace hazards in his home state, Louisiana. His lifelong commitment to service through the legal system began as a child in Louisiana, a state where danger in the workplace was commonplace and expectations for most workers were of a life shortened by the necessity of making a living. Seeing this, LeBlanc knew that his life mission would be to seek justice for the downtrodden.

Today LeBlanc’s passion for championing the rights of individuals extends to the national stage where he serves as president of the American Association for Justice (AAJ). As president of AAJ, the largest trial lawyer non-profit group in the United States, LeBlanc advocates for protection of America’s civil justice system and rallys resources when corporate interests attempt to infringe on individual rights. He is an adamant crusader for the abolition of forced arbitration and a supporter of the fundamental right to a trial by jury.

LeBlanc’s current appointment as president follows a long history of involvement on both the local and national levels of AAJ and its affiliate organizations. He previously served as president – elect, vice president, treasurer and parliamentarian of AAJ. In addition, LeBlanc has been a member of AAJ’s Executive Committee and the Board of Governors, where he was awarded the Wiedemann Wysocki National Finance Council Award two separate times, most recently in July 2010. LeBlanc has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the AAJ PAC Committee, chairman of the AAJ National Finance Council, a sustaining member of the AAJ and a member of the Leaders Forum. He is also a member of the AAJ’s Section on Toxic Torts and Business Torts.

LeBlanc has also served the Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ) as past president, member of the Council of Directors, Board of Governors and the Committee for the Environmental Law/Toxic Tort Section. He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the LAJ.

LeBlanc’s extensive accomplishments are equally renowned in the courtroom, paving the way for him to be named as one of the top 75 plaintiff’s attorneys in the United States by The American Lawyer. In addition to his work representing individuals, LeBlanc has successfully represented many governmental entities, including the States of Hawaii, Mississippi, Louisiana, and West Virginia in complex consumer fraud litigation.

Today LeBlanc concentrates his practice in the areas of environmental law, securities and asbestos litigation.

Burton is a member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) State Attorney General and State Department of Justice Issues Committee as well as a committee member of the ABA’s Section on Toxic Torts. He is also a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA) the National Association of Shareholder & Consumer Attorneys (NASCAT), the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, Baton Rouge Bar Association, Texas State Bar Association, American Bar Association, College of the State Bar of Texas, the Louisiana Bar Foundation and a supporting member of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice Foundation. He is a frequent lecturer on the issues of environmental law, asbestos litigation, chemical exposure cases and the importance of access to the civil justice system.

Burton and his wife are active in the Baton Rouge community and serve on multiple boards, including Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge, where LeBlanc served as president.