About Merrick Walton

Rick Walton is an attorney, mediator, and legal recruiter in Houston, Texas. He formerly held positions as Associate General Counsel and General Solicitor at Union Pacific Railroad Company, where he managed a regional law office and a wide range of FELA, grade crossing, toxic tort class action, and complex personal injury litigation. His background also includes positions as Vice President and General Counsel of USPCI, Inc. (Union Pacific’s former environmental services subsidiary) and Associate General Counsel of Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc., as well as trial practice at law firms in Dallas and Houston.

Rick Walton has practiced law in Texas for over 45 years as a commercial and personal injury trial lawyer, corporate counsel, and corporate manager of litigation. Since leaving Union Pacific Railroad Company in 2004 to return to private practice, he has been engaged in a consulting practice focusing on alternate dispute resolution and management of class actions and other complex toxic tort litigation, and he continues to represent railroads and other clients (including insurers and reinsurers) in matters of that nature. At Union Pacific, where he held positions as Associate General Counsel and General Solicitor, he managed a regional law office and a wide range of FELA, grade crossing toxic tort class action, and complex personal injury litigation in a territory encompassing the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. His background also includes positions as Vice President and General Counsel of USPCI, Inc. (Union Pacific’s former environmental services subsidiary) and Associate General Counsel of Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc., as well as trial practice at law firms in Dallas and Houston, covering a broad range of subject matter including environmental, antitrust, securities and other commercial litigation in addition to the defense of personal injury lawsuits.

Although he is licensed only in Texas, his relationships with first-tier law firms throughout the United States enable him to assist clients in locating counsel and managing complex litigation virtually anywhere in the country. Especially in Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico, a roster of capable local counsel and contract legal assistants provide flexibility in bringing the right resources to bear on a wide variety of crisis response and litigation matters.