Neal Walters

Neal Walters leads Ballard Spahr’s Product Liability and Mass Tort Group and co-leads its Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group. A member of the firm’s Manufacturing and Consumer Products Industry Team, Neal represents product companies in litigation and advises them on risks arising throughout the development, sale and servicing of their products. For consumer product manufacturers, he has defended and coordinated product liability and consumer claims, including substantial class actions, across the country, with particular emphasis on New Jersey state and federal courts.

Automotive matters are a significant part of Neal’s practice. He counsels automotive companies on regulatory, product development and service issues and defends them against product liability claims. His work includes defending a domestic distributor of foreign motor vehicles in substantial class action litigation and addressing allegations of widespread defects in cases with eight- or nine-figure exposure. Neal has tried two automotive class actions through jury verdicts, experience that informs his approach to expert evidence and class certification. He has also pursued earlier dismissal or resolution of complex cases through motions to dismiss, class settlements and voluntary market actions.

Neal’s automotive counseling extends to risk management during vehicle development and field support. Working with technical experts, he addresses parts supply, Production Part Approval Processes and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), as well as wheelchair tie-down and occupant restraint systems and other mobility issues affecting passengers with disabilities. He reviews sales and service materials, develops sales terms and conditions, and evaluates advertising and other product materials for litigation sensitivity. His projects have included analyzing corporate structures to reduce litigation risk, developing early-warning decision processes and training employees on claims processing. In collaboration with the firm’s Privacy and Data Security Group, he has provided gap analyses concerning evolving automotive cybersecurity and data privacy ISO standards. He also presents on automotive issues, including product liability risks associated with autonomous vehicles.

In industrial matters, Neal defends companies against catastrophic injury claims involving workplace accidents, toxic exposures, fires and explosions. Those matters have included allegations involving benzene and nitrous oxide exposure, entrapment, building and furnace explosions, and industrial machinery. His work brings together workers’ compensation immunity issues, OSHA considerations and interdisciplinary expert evidence. He and his team also advise companies on ANSI warnings standards and warning labels for steelmaking, industrial machinery, consumer and commercial products, and agriculture. Related counseling covers sales and service terms, including indemnification, insurance, warranties and UCC issues involving title and bailment.

Neal also addresses product development and liability issues involving commercial and energy technologies. For smart meters, he has worked on FMEA analysis, applicable UL and ANSI standards, technology validation, and warranty and litigation questions arising from smart grid performance. He has analyzed warnings and operating procedures for lithium-powered home energy sources and solar panels. Beyond product liability claims, his work for product companies includes disputes over supply chains and nonconforming goods, as well as counseling on contractual and regulatory issues. He has also defended class actions under New Jersey’s Truth in Consumer Contract and Warranty Notice Act concerning sales disclosures in websites and other advertising materials.

• Currently defending a prominent domestic distributor of motor vehicles and its foreign parent company in six separate class actions alleging consumer fraud and warranty theories.
• Counseled leading global amusement ride manufacturer in response to formal government investigation of catastrophic Chinese roller-coaster incident.
• Regularly counsels numerous middle-market product manufacturing companies on B2B and consumer-facing disputes arising from alleged commercial product nonconformities; advice and drafting of appropriate ANSI-compliant warning labels; UL regulation compliance; drafting and consolidation of warranties involving numerous product lines; due diligence supporting corporate acquisitions; responses to CLRA and Proposition 65 demand letters; and related risk management and litigation sensitivity training.

• Presently defending a leading sports protective gear company in California state court in a UCL and CLRA class action arising out of alleged warranty and advertising practices.
• Prevailed on summary judgment on behalf of Rally-Cross racing company in the Central District of Los Angeles, dismissing the eight-figure claims of a promotions company asserting its business and national racing series failed as a result of tortious interference and fraudulent conduct.
• Counseled a leading commercial food service entity on risk management of field complaints associated with the performance of induction ranges, and development of warnings.
• Secured a successful class action settlement on behalf of a financing dealership against consumer fraud claims advanced by customers alleging that use of GPS tracking and ignition arresting devices violated Connecticut’s Electronic Self Help statute.

• Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey School of Law-Newark (J.D. 1993)
• Rutgers College (B.A. 1990)

• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Chambers USA, litigation: product liability (New Jersey ranking, 2012-2026; national ranking, 2009-2013)

The Legal 500 US, Product liability and mass tort defense – automotive/transport, 2015-2025

Lawdragon, 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2025-2027

Recipient, New Jersey Law Journal "40 Under 40" award, 2007

Recipient, 2003 Conservation Award, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, for his team's pro bono efforts in successfully pursuing an injunction to preserve a site of archaeological significance on behalf of the Lenni-Lenape Indians

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.