Famed attorney and Dallas philanthropist Lisa Blue made headlines recently for her dealings with District Attorney Craig Watkins, who is under investigation by the FBI for prosecutorial misconduct. But amid the alleged impropriety, she's picked up a coveted national honor.
Blue has been named one of "The 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America" by the National Law Journal. For the ranking, the journal weighed the nation's top attorneys on political clout, legal results and media presence, as well as business and thought leadership.
Blue is a partner at Baron and Blue, which she ran with her late husband Fred Baron. A former assistant district attorney, Blue is known as a hard-nosed lawyer with a particular skill for picking juries.
The National Law Journal had high praise for Blue:
Following attorney-husband Fred Baron's death in 2008, Lisa Blue got busy reinventing herself. Distancing herself from her late husband's involvement in John Edwards' mistress scandal, Baron claimed the spotlight as a generous supporter of the Democratic Party. She hosts about 35 parties each year — mostly charity events or Democratic fundraisers — at her Dallas home. In addition to running her practice, specializing in toxic torts and environmental law, she is vice president of the American Association for Justice, works as a jury consultant and runs the Baron and Blue Foundation.
Personal injury lawyer Mary Alice McLarty of Dallas firm McLarty Pope also made the cut, as did Houston attorney Rusty Hardin, founder of Rusty Hardin & Associates LLP.
Hardin's high-profile clients have included oil giant ExxonMobil; former baseball pitcher Roger Clemens, who was recently acquitted of perjury charges; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, whom Hardin successfully painted as the victim of a police altercation in Houston last summer; and the estate of Texas billionaire J. Howard Marshall II.
Blue has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal.
A rendering of the Hill Country property. Rendering courtesy of UMusic Hospitality & Lifestyle