Neal Walters > Ballard Spahr LLP > New Jersey, United States > Lawyer Profile

Ballard Spahr LLP
700 EAST GATE DRIVE
SUITE 330 MOUNT LAUREL
NJ 08054-0015
NEW JERSEY
United States

Work Department

Litigation

Position

Partner and Leader of Ballard Spahr’s Product Liability/Mass Tort Group

Career

Neal Walters is the Practice Leader of Ballard Spahr’s Product Liability and Mass Tort Group, and a member of the firm’s Manufacturing and Retail Industry Groups. Neal has a diverse trial and litigation practice focused on protecting product companies, as well as clients involved in technical matters, against a broad range of risks. As counsel for several consumer product manufacturers, he has defended and coordinated product liability and consumer claims, including class actions, through trial in jurisdictions across the country.

He also counsels companies on contractual, regulatory, and liability issues arising in the development, sale, and servicing of products. Most recently, this has included responding to emergent requests from clients to address COVID-19 related product risks, including the evaluation and support of emergency PPE.

Admissions

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Memberships

Rutgers School of Law-Camden, former Adjunct Professor, Pretrial Advocacy and Electronic Discovery

Defense Research Institute

Neal is a Trustee of the Board of Directors, and the Chair of the Governance Committee, of the South Jersey Food Bank. Neal was a collegiate baseball player and is an athletics enthusiast. He is an avid golfer and is actively involved in coaching a variety of youth sports for the Marlton (New Jersey) Recreation Council.

Education

Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey School of Law-Newark (J.D. 1993)

Rutgers College (B.A. 1990)

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: automotive/transport

Automotive-related mandates form a significant proportion of Ballard Spahr LLP‘s workflow for its overarching product liability and mass torts group, which is led out of New Jersey by Neal Walters. As well as handling work in the aftermath of litigation, including motions and at trial, the firm is also a popular choice at a pre-emptive stage, regularly working with clients from a counseling perspective to ensure effective guardrails are established to better avoid litigation. Walters is at the forefront of the most significant product liability defense work handled by the firm, and has achieved scores of successes for clients at the motions stage, as well as handling jury trials through to verdict. Drawing upon recent experience in-house at an autonomous vehicle technology developer, New Jersey-based Casey Watkins is central to the firm’s success, from a litigation and regulatory perspective, on behalf of emerging clients in the sector.