Ron Bankston
Ron Bankston Neutral
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Overview

Ron Bankston

Ron Bankston is a board-certified attorney and Distinguished Credentialed Mediator with more than 30 years of first-chair trial experience and over 20 years’ experience as a mediator. He mediates cases including automobile, personal injury, premises liability, trucking, and wrongful death, among others.

As an attorney, he has represented plaintiffs and defendants, individuals, families, small businesses, corporations, and governmental entities. Ron has served as trial counsel and mediator in nearly every area of civil litigation, including brain injury, catastrophic injury, explosions and other mass casualty events, commercial litigation, real estate, employment, insurance, product liability, construction, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 actions, Title IX, appellate, probate, and professional liability cases. Since 1996, he has mediated thousands of cases and facilitated settlements totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

Ron also regularly serves as a court-appointed special master and privately retained arbitrator. He provides settlement allocations in mass casualty cases, as well as in individual cases involving global settlements and/or the tender and allocation of a limited settlement fund.

 

Admitted to Practice

  • Texas, 1977
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas, 1977
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas, 1984
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1979
  • U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 1989

Education

  • University of Houston, J.D., 1977
    • State and National Moot Court Team
  • University of Houston, B.A., Political Science/Communications, 1974
    • Member, National Circuit Debate Team
    • Inducted into University of Houston Speech & Debate Hall of Fame

Professional or Trade Affiliations

  • National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals
  • Distinguished Credentialed Mediator – Texas Association of Credentialed Mediators
  • Board Certified, Personal Injury Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1985; Recertified 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020

Representative Matters 

  • Successful mediation of multiple 8-figure single-plaintiff injury cases
  • Successful mediation of 64-plaintiff chemical plant mass casualty case
  • Special master, 9-figure, multiple-plaintiff chemical plant explosion case
  • Special master, 9-figure 34-plaintiff petrochemical plant explosion case
  • Liquidating trustee, 2000-victim, mass casualty explosion case

Honors & Awards

  • Best Lawyers in America for litigation in Commercial and Personal Injury (2026)
  • Texas Super Lawyer 2007-present
  • Elected by peers to American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), 2007
  • Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rating: AV Preeminent® (5.0 out of 5.0)
  • AVVO rating: Superb/10.0 out of 10.0

Publications

  • “Legal Affairs: Using Mediation Rather Than Litigation To Reduce Your Legal Expenses,” Smart Business Magazine, September 2006
  • Personal Injury Forms: Discovery & Settlement  (James Publishing, 2007)
  • The New Litigator’s Guide to Trial Practice (“Courtroom Ethics” and “Lessons From Seasoned Litigators”) NBI Seminar Presentation and Written Materials January 2008
  • Master Your Next Mediation: Advice for Attorneys, February 2025

 

Speaking Engagements

  • Construction Site Safety Issues: Seeing Yourself as Trial Lawyers Do (“Public Safety Laws For Texas Architects, Engineers and Construction Professionals”), seminar and written materials, Houston, Texas, February 2006
  • Plaintiff’s Personal Injury: Practice Tips and Application (“Understanding the Law of Damages” and “Basics of Civil Practice, Procedure and Discovery”), NBI seminar and written materials, Houston, Texas, February 2007
  • “Stowers Today: Settlement Demands and Settlement Responses,” University of Houston Law Center Advanced Personal Injury Trial Law Seminar, Fall 2007
  • Mediation Ethics, Houston Bar Association, 2012

 

Community Involvement

  • Rice University, academic advisor and lead instructor – Rice University Paralegal Program, 2005 – 2011
  • University of Houston Honors College Advisory Board 2012-2023
  • Houston Urban Debate League – founding board member, board chair, CEO, emeritus board member 2007-present
  • Houston Public Radio – member and sponsor, 2010-present
Rates and Fees

Rates - Ron Bankston

If you have questions regarding our rates and fees, please contact support@milesadr.com

MEDIATION RATES:

Flat Rates
Full-Day Mediation: $2,750.00 Per Party/ Per Day
Half-Day Mediation: $1,950.00 Per Party/ Per Day
Global Settlement Allocation: Contact us for rate as fees vary depending upon such factors as number of parties, amount of preparation required, number of mediation days, complexity of the issues, travel requirements, etc.

Pre/Post Consultation & Document Review: Rates inclusive of prep work and follow-up.
Travel Rates: Rates inclusive of all travel time but not travel expenses. Travel expenses, including but not limited to flights, meals and lodging, billed separately and split equally among the parties.
Arbitration Rates: $8,000 per day for the hearing on the merits; $650 per hour for pre/post hearing matters

MEDIATION CANCELLATION POLICY

Mediations cancelled within 10 days of the mediation will be charged a cancellation fee of $1,000.
However, mediations cancelled, rescheduled or settled within 24 hours of the mediation will be charged half of the Neutral’s per day flat rate. Cancellation fees shall be sent to the cancelling party unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.