BP Spill Makes For Strange Bedfellows In La.
by Daniel Fisher (excerpt)

FORBES

Our sources in Louisiana tell us Republican Governor Bobby Jindal has picked a most unlikely law firm to represent the state in litigation against BP: Baron & Budd.

Neither the governor’s office nor Baron & Budd would comment. People familiar with the contract said it was negotiated by the Office of Coastal Activities, an agency directly under the governor’s control, and is being reviewed by Louisiana Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell. The state could have billions of dollars in claims against BP, on everything from lost oil and gas revenues to damage to state-owned marshes and oyster beds.

The contract may never come to pass. But Baron & Budd is an unusual choice for Jindal, and not just because the firm is based in Dallas (Louisiana lawyers are steamed the Gov didn’t pick one of their own). President Barack Obama traveled to partner Russell Budd’s house in Dallas earlier this week for a Democratic fundraiser, the firm grew rich on controversial asbestos litigation and was famously close with the Clinton administration. And founder Fred Baron, who died in 2008, also gave money to the mistress of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards in what was widely seen as an attempt to cover up the affair.