http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_%26_Budd_asbestos_memo

http://valleywag.gawker.com/5033448/how-daddys-money-paid-for-andrew-barons-rocketboom

http://valleywag.gawker.com/5076308/fred-baron-father-of-rocketboom-clicks-stop

http://www.baronandbluefdn.org/fred_baron.html

http://www.utexas.edu/law/news/2008/111308_fred_baron.html

www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2008/11/the_king_of_torts_passes_away.php

Frederick Martin Baron, the Texas trial lawyer best known for spearheading the toxic tort litigation movement on behalf of thousands of asbestos-exposed plaintiffs, died from cancer on Oct. 30. The legendary attorney, a founder of Dallas-based law firm Baron & Bud PC, died of a multiple myeloma just weeks after gaining authorization to use Tysabri -- a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease, and a possible drug treatment for his ailment.

Continue reading below
	
Also on Dealscape

    * Video: Bayside's Kosch on dip priming fights
    * Stimulus plan fails to stimulate Deal Stocks
    * IVP, Benchmark invest $35M in Twitter
    * House leaders spell out auto conditions
    * Bad to the bone
    * PNC CEO takes jet to Super Bowl
    * No wonder VCs back serial entrepreneurs
    * The Journal gets Silverman's past wrong

Baron's career in tort litigation began in the 1970s, and he won the moniker the "King of Torts" for his successful if controversial pursuit of awards from big corporations like Halliburton Co. and now-bankrupt W.R. Grace & Co. Most recently he gained some renown for his involvement in the cover-up of disgraced former U.S. Sen. John Edward's extramarital affair with video producer Rielle Hunter. Baron served as Edward's campaign finance chairman in the senator's 2004 vice presidential bid.

Now, as plaintiff and consumer groups begin a major push to roll back limitations on personal-injury and class-action lawsuits, Baron's legacy in toxic tort litigation could further flourish. Democratic wins this Tuesday in both the Oval Office and Congress could put these lobby groups, which raised $137 million for Democratic candidates in 2004, in a better position to have their issues heard.

But even before the Edwards donnybrook, Baron didn't ingratiate himself with those who feel mass tort litigation just lines the pockets of plaintiff attorneys.

"Fred Baron was an innovator with respect to mass litigation," a spokesperson for the American Tort Reform Association told The Wall Street Journal law blog. "Whether that's a good thing, history will have to decide." - Carolyn Okomo

----------------------------------------
http://abajournal.com/news/king_of_torts_fred_baron_dies_after_successful_quest_for_experimental_drug/


ome  » News » ‘King of Torts’ Fred Baron Dies after Successful Quest for Experimental Drug
Obituaries
‘King of Torts’ Fred Baron Dies after Successful Quest for Experimental Drug

Posted Oct 31, 2008, 05:09 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Dallas trial lawyer Fred Baron has died at the age of 61, two weeks after a successful quest to obtain an experimental drug to treat his cancer.

Baron had multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, the Associated Press reports. He was known as the "king of torts" for representing clients injured by asbestos and other toxic substances, according to the Dallas Morning News. He formed his own law firm, which became known as Baron & Budd, to pursue a case that his former employer had rejected, the Morning News story says.

Baron’s son, Andrew, wrote on his blog about his father’s efforts to obtain the experimental drug Tysabri, approved to treat multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease. He was able to obtain it through the Mayo Clinic despite the drugmaker’s fears that a bad outcome could restrict the drug’s use on other patients.

Baron was active as a Democratic fundraiser and was recently in the news for paying to relocate the mistress of presidential candidate John Edwards to California.