Email | cliff@fbtrial.com

Clifford H. Walston is a partner who joined Farrar & Ball, LLP in June of 2010. Prior to joining the firm, he was a partner in the Houston office of Diamond McCarthy LLP, a complex commercial litigation boutique. Cliff is an experienced trial attorney who has tried multiple cases to verdict in state and federal court, as well as presenting oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and multiple Texas Courts of Appeal. He handles all types of litigation with a special emphasis on product liability litigation, financial disputes, class actions, lender liability cases, and other business matters.

Cliff received his J.D. degree, with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law in 2002. Cliff is also a graduate of the Business Honors Program within the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a B.B.A. in Finance, with honors in 1999. In addition, Cliff was a recipient of the Texas Exes Award for Scholarship and Leadership for his outstanding leadership contributions and academic success. Cliff was admitted to the State Bar of Texas in 2002, the Mississippi State Bar in 2003, and the Alabama State Bar in 2004. He is also a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association.

In 2008 and 2009, Texas Monthly named Cliff a "Rising Star" in its Super Lawyers edition, a distinction reserved for the top 2.5% of Texas attorneys who are under 40 years of age or have been practicing law for less than 10 years. In addition, Cliff is also a co-author of the American Bar Association’s class action treatise, A Practitioner's Guide to Class Actions.

A sample of Cliff's prior representations include:

The successful representation of a certified class in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas pursuing claims of breach of contract on behalf of thousands of bond indemnitors who were victimized by a group of bail bondsmen and insurance companies. Class certification was upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the case settled for a confidential sum on the eve of trial.

Co-lead attorney in the successful representation of World Trade Distribution, Inc., a Houston based international freight shipping company, against Saia, Inc. relating to World Trade’s purchase of a multi-million dollar shipping facility in Harris County and Saia’s abandonment of hazardous materials resulting in environmental contamination.

Co-lead attorney in the successful representation of Rabo Agrifinance, Inc. and Ag Acceptance Corporation, domestic subsidiaries of Rabobank International, in a dispute relating to the financing of a commercial farming operation located in the panhandle of West Texas. The dispute spawned a series of lawsuits in both state and federal court. Cliff’s clients were victorious throughout all aspects of the representation including the following:

• After a two week trial in the 222nd District Court of Deaf Smith County, Texas in which the plaintiffs sought more than $10 million in damages, the jury returned a take-nothing verdict completely exonerating Cliff’s clients.

• After a four day bench trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law awarding the requested relief to Cliff’s clients.

• After obtaining summary judgment awarding possession of the property to Cliff’s client, the adverse party appealed the possession order multiple times, ultimately appealing to the Seventh Court of Appeals for the State of Texas where Cliff successfully presented the oral argument on behalf of his client.

• Granting of summary judgment on breach of contract claims and entry of final judgments in excess of $5.5 million.