Stephen Babcock is a Louisiana lawyer best known for his high profile cases involving large business disputes and personal injury matters.
Stephen Babcock | |
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| Born | Timothy Stephen Babcock May 20, 1973 |
| Alma mater | B.S., Louisiana Tech University, JD, Paul M. Hebert Law Center |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Early life
Stephen Babcock was born in West Monroe, Louisiana. He grew up in rural Lincoln Parish outside the city limits of Ruston, Louisiana. His father, Tim Babcock was a Real estate broker, and his mother was a Registered nurse. Babcock attended private Cedar Creek School in Ruston, Louisiana from kindergarten to seventh grade when family financial issues necessitated his transfer to the public Ruston Jr. High and eventually Ruston High School, where he graduated in 1991.
Bildung
He attended Louisiana Tech University where he earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in marketing, and a Juris Doctor (JD) from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He was initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Texas A&M University. [1]
Early career
Babcock first job as a lawyer was as an in-house trial attorney for Allstate after he passed the Louisiana bar in 2000. Two years later, he entered private practice with McKay Williamson Lutgring & Cochran and soon thereafter opened his own firm, Babcock Law Firm, LLC in March of 2003. In his first notable case, Babcock represented Master P in an automobile accident case in which Allstate was involved.
Legal practice
He is perhaps best known for a December 2007 case where he got a state judge to agree to postpone a trial scheduled to start on the same day Louisiana State University played Ohio State in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. He was defending Imperial Casualty Insurance Co. in a lawsuit over a car crash, and requested the delay because he has tickets to the Jan. 7, 2008 game at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. He and other LSU fans had rented out the second floor of a Bourbon Street bar for a pre-game tailgate party. In court documents requesting the postponement, Babcock famously referred to Ohio State as "Slowhio" ("due to their perceived lack of speed on both sides of the ball") and noted that Allstate, sponsors of the Sugar Bowl, are not a party in the insurance case. He further stated that "All counsel to this matter unequivocally agree that the presence of LSU in the aforementioned contest of pigskin skill unquestionably constitutes good grounds" and went on to say that "In fact we have been unable through much imagination and hypothetical scenarios to think of a better reason." The judge agreed and granted the postponement.[2]
In another high profile case, Stephen Babcock won an arbitration award of close to $2 million for Ashby Hospitality LLC, against the owner of the Hilton hotel they had managed, Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Commercial Properties Realty Trust. The dispute arose when the hotel owner demanded that Ashby reimburse the salaries of the hotel’s accountants, whom Commercial Properties had paid for more than two years. Babcock argued the case before a three-person American Arbitration Association panel and won on all issues litigated.
The hotel refused to pay, saying the award could not be enforced, according to the lawsuit filed by Ashby. “In the end, this litigation was a lot like a poker game. The loser is making bad decisions and doesn’t know when to quit, and the winner just wants his money,” Babcock said in a news release. He further described Commercial Properties’ use of the legal system as “unfortunate”.[3]
In another high profile case, Babcock represented Bulgaria in its high stakes tobacco litigation with the state of Louisiana.
Awards and Accolades
Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum[4]