I believe in mediation as a means for settling disputes. The United States has an outstanding legal system, and Americans are so fortunate to have the right to a trial by jury for cases that cannot be settled without a trial. But my experience as both a trial lawyer and a mediator has convinced me that a settlement agreement reached between the parties themselves is almost always preferable to the risk and uncertainty of a trial. Trial places the outcome of a case in the hands of strangers. Mediation empowers the parties -- the people who know the most and care the most about the dispute -- to resolve the dispute on terms that they jointly choose and agree upon. As a mediator, I bring with me both my mediation training and experience, and my 37 years of experience as a trial lawyer who has served as trial counsel in almost every area of personal injury, wrongful death and commercial litigation. I take great pride and personal satisfaction in helping parties and their attorneys settle their cases. I give my personal commitment to all parties and attorneys to be fully engaged and to work diligently with them to achieve a settlement. You will not find a mediator who will devote more time, energy and effort to helping to reach resolution.
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Personal injury Attorney | Apr 23
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter
"Ron is a thoughtful, tenacious, highly intelligent and formidable opponent. The cases he and I have had together have been difficult but rewarding. He recommend him highly."
Unknown Attorney | Oct 20
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter
"Ron is among the most skilled advocates I have encountered. We worked on opposite sides of a complicated and long-running case. I know of few other lawyers who could have represented the clients interests the way Ron did, and fewer still who could have obtained the results he got for his clients. It was a difficult case, and as vigorous and contentious as it wasa factually and legally, Ron and I were always able to shake hands at the end of the day. I give Ron my highest recommendation."
Mediation Attorney | Dec 02
Relationship: Worked together on matter
"When my opposing counsel became ill during a multi-million dollar commercial fraud trial, the judge suggested a mid-trial mediation with Ron Bankston. This was one of the most challenging mediations I've ever seen. The parties were bitter enemies who'd been at each other's throats in lawsuits dating back more than five years, and my client's family business was threatened with extinction in the current trial. Ron's work was, in a word, MASTERFUL. He displayed a broad and deep knowledge of substantive law, tempered with a keen appreciation of the realities of the courthouse. But he also diagnosed the parties' respective needs and acute sensitivities, and threaded a path toward reconciling those which quite literally brought the parties to a respectful handshake (and appropriate documentation) of a final settlement agreement that mooted the trial and all the years of previous litigation. Ron is as fine a mediator as I've seen in almost 30 years of active trial practice in Houston."
Personal injury Attorney | Jul 12
Relationship: Opposing Counsel on matter
"Ron Bankston is an extremely bright lawyer and an effective advocate for his clients. Two years ago I defended one of Houston's largest drilling companies in a case that Ron brought on behalf of one of his clients, a drilling pipe stabber trainee who had his fingers amputated working on an oil rig. Ron did an outstanding job of marshalling the evidence and presenting his client's case."