Dr. Walter L. Sutton, Jr. has had a distinguished legal career spanning over 52 years. He retired from Walmart in December 2015, where he served as Associate General Counsel – Legal Administration & External Relations. In that position,Dr. Sutton was an internal advocate and external voice for Walmart’s diversity initiatives and represented the company in many public forums.
In addition to his law degree, Dr. Sutton has earned a B.S. and Masters in Business Administration, and Ph.D. in Management Science. In 1989, he became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Dr. Sutton continues to teach in the Jindal School of Management at UTD.
After graduation from the University of Denver in 1967, Dr. Sutton accepted a position with Ford Motor Company in Dearborn,MI. He worked full-time at Ford while attending evening classes at Wayne State University School of Law in Detroit. After his first year of law school, he received a full scholarship to the University of Michigan Law School where he was one of 5 African American students in the second-year class. He participated in Black Action Movement (BAM) demonstrations on campus to demand the admission of more students of color and worked in the Legal Aid Clinic representing diverse citizens in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After graduation from law school in 1970, Dr. Sutton returned to Ford’s Office of General Counsel where he practiced corporate and product liability law. Dr. Sutton returned to his native Texas in 1972 to become the first African American attorney at Tenneco Oil Company in Houston. He later became the first African American attorney at Texas Instruments Incorporated in Dallas, Texas. He was also the first African American to head the Office of Regional Counsel, U.S. EPA (Region 6) in Dallas. Dr. Sutton always used his positions and influence to advance opportunities for other diverse lawyers.
Dr. Sutton served as President of the National Bar Association (NBA) in 1987. He also served as a Board member of the State Bar of Texas, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, North Texas Legal Aid Society, and Dallas Legal Services Foundation. Dr. Sutton is a past Chair of the State Bar of Texas Minority Counsel Program which seeks to expand and increase opportunities for minority and women attorneys who provide legal services to corporate and government clients. Ebony Magazine has recognized him as one of “The 100 Most Influential Black Americans”.
Dr. Sutton serves as a mentor to many diverse law students and lawyers across the country, and continues to work to provide opportunities for racially and ethnically diverse students. He currently serves on the NBA Board of Governors. He also serves asChairman of the Wiley College Board of Trustees, a historically Black college in Marshall, Texas. Dr. Sutton has received many honors and awards. The NBA has awarded him the C. Francis Stratford Award, the Gertrude E. Rush Award, and has inducted him into its Hall of Fame. The ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession awarded him the Spirit of Excellence Award in 2013. The Dallas Bar Association awarded Dr. Sutton the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Award in recognition of his leadership and demonstrated values and ideals of Dr. King.
Dr. Sutton and his wife, Beverly, reside in Dallas, Texas. They have one son and two grandchildren.