Richard Orton

• Board of the Brady Street Area Association, Volunteer, 2017-2021

• Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)
• Litigation Counsel of America (LCA)
• Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, 2012
• Defense Research Institute (DRI)
• Chair, Board of Directors of Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, 2021
• Vice Chair, Board of Directors of Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, 2019
• Member, Board of Directors of Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, 2017
• U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Wisconsin
• U.S. District Court – Western District of Michigan
• U.S. District Court – Western District of Wisconsin
• Board of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Young Lawyers Division, 2014-2018
• State of Illinois
• State of Wisconsin
• Wisconsin Defense Counsel (WDC)
• Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association, Board of Directors, 2019-Present
• Milwaukee Bar Association
• Thomas E. Fairchild Inn, American Inns of Court, Associate Member, 2013-2016
• Illinois State Bar Association

• Best Lawyers in America, Products Liability Defense and Construction Litigation, 2022
• Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2017-2023
• Fellow, Wisconsin Law Foundation (2017 Inductee)
• Up and Coming Lawyer Award, Wisconsin Law Journal, 2016
• Ruby R. Vale National Corporate Law Moot Court Competition, Best Brief Award, University of Wisconsin

• Marquette University, B.A. cum laude, 2007
• University of Oxford, Lady Margaret Hall, 2006

• Defense verdict in Sonoma County, CA on behalf of manufacturer of construction equipment wherein plaintiff lost right arm and leg after tipping over a rough terrain forklift (a/k/a telehandler).  Plaintiff asked the jury to award $26 Million as a result of the injuries.  After deliberating three days, the jury returned a verdict of no negligence and no product defect., 2017
• Verrazono v. Gehl Co., 50 Cal. App. 5th 636, 263 Cal. Rptr. 3d 663 (2020)
• Secura v. Super Products LLC, No. 2018AP1600, 2019 WL 3432520 (Wis. App. July 31, 2019)
• Obtained a favorable verdict on behalf of a contractor in a fire case involving allegations of an improperly installed fireplace and chimney system in a home, after a 4 day jury trial in Wisconsin Circuit Court.  , 2018
• Won a motion to dismiss with prejudice as local counsel on behalf of a major U.S. auto manufacturer in a purported product liability class action against it. The class action complaint raised a variety of claims based on an alleged defect in a certain generation of truck engine, 2021

• This article discusses Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon Corp., the first case to deal in depth with section 895.047. The most important takeaway from Murphy is that the consumer-contemplation test lives on in Wisconsin strict products liability design defect cases.  Plaintiffs in Wisconsin courts suing manufacturers for injuries caused by alleged product design defects must now meet both the reasonable-alternative-design requirements and the consumer-contemplation test., Author, Marching On: Wisconsin's Peculiar Products Liability Law After Murphy, Wisconsin Lawyer, May 2023, at 14., 2023
• Presenter, “Discovery in Products Liability Cases,” annual equipment industry product liability seminar, August 2021
• Co-Presenter, “Make It Your Exhibit A, Not Theirs: Documentation Strategies for Success at Trial,” DRI Product Liability Conference, New Orleans, February 2020
• Presenter, “Anatomy of a Products Liability Claim,” annual equipment industry product liability seminar, May 2019
• Presenter, “Pretrial Techniques”, State Bar of Wisconsin, September 20, 2018 (covering motions to compel discovery, summary judgment and Daubert challenges)
• Presenter, Annual Wisconsin Legal Update, annually, 2015-2019 (multiple locations / clients)
• Presenter, “Writing it Right: Avoiding Litigation Risks in Technical Publication Drafting,” 2018 (multiple locations and clients)
• Presenter, “Dig Deep and Extract the Truth: How to use the Latest Digital Forensic Technology to Win Your Cases,” State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference, June 21, 2018
• Co-Organizer, “Common Evidentiary Issues and Pitfalls,” State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference, June 15, 2017
• Moderator, “From the Bench: Practical Tips for Litigants”, State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference, June 16, 2016
• Presenter, Annual Wisconsin Legal Update, annually, 2015-2019 (multiple locations/clients)
• Moderator and co-organizer, “From the Bench: Practical Tips for Litigants”, State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference, June 16, 2016
• Co-Organizer, “Common Evidentiary Issues and Pitfalls,” State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference, June 15, 2017
• Presenter, “Dig Deep and Extract the Truth: How to use the Latest Digital Forensic Technology to Win Your Cases,” State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Meeting and Conference, June 21, 2018
• Presenter, “Writing it Right: Avoiding Litigation Risks in Technical Publication Drafting,” 2018 (multiple locations and clients)
• Presenter, “Pretrial Techniques”, State Bar of Wisconsin, September 20, 2018 (covering motions to compel discovery, summary judgment and Daubert challenges)
• Presenter, “Anatomy of a Products Liability Claim,” annual equipment industry product liability seminar, May 2019
• Author, 2019 supplement to Requests for Admissions chapter in Wisconsin Discovery Law and Practice, State Bar of Wisconsin Pinnacle books, 5th Ed.
• Presenter, “Recent Developments in the Evolution of the Economic Loss Doctrine,” Wisconsin Defense Counsel Annual Conference, August 2020

• Agribusiness
• Agriculture
• Commercial
• Construction
• Construction Equipment
• Entertainment
• Heavy Equipment
• Hospitality
• Industrial And Consumer Products
• Insurance
• Manufacturing
• Medical Devices
• Motor Vehicle
• Recreational Equipment
• Thrill Rides
• Water Parks

“Rich is hardworking and driven. The clients love him.”