Edwardsville, IL

Troy E. Walton

Attorney Troy Walton leverages his working-class roots and family values to bring favorable results to his clients facing personal injury litigation. A native of Central Illinois, and the youngest son of hard-working parents, Troy personally experienced the difficulty navigating a catastrophic illness when at age 12, his father passed away after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. Troy made good on his promise to his father and enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received his Bachelor of Arts in History. After graduation, Troy attended St. Louis University School of Law and graduated cum laude in 2000. After law school, Troy handled real estate and construction litigation matters for large corporations and insurance companies. In 2001, he left corporate America behind and returned to his roots by accepting an associate position with renowned plaintiff’s personal injury firm-the Rex Carr Law Firm. While at Rex Carr, Troy honed his trial advocacy by representing individuals and families in a wide array of personal injury cases ranging from catastrophic injury to wrongful death. In January 2009, Troy co-founded Walton Telken, LLC (which, in 2025, merged with Bragee Law to form Walton Telken Bragee) where he continues to focus his practice exclusively on plaintiff’s personal injury litigation including trucking and motor vehicle accidents, products liability claims, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and neglect cases, class actions, complex civil litigation, and all claims involving serious personal injury or wrongful death. In his two decades of practice, Troy has successfully resolved several plaintiff’s personal injury cases resulting in significant recoveries to his clients. Such cases include a $7 million wrongful death and product liability settlement caused by a defective refrigerator; a significant settlement for a truck driver who was struck by an uninsured motorist; and a substantial settlement for a five-year-old boy who sustained second and third degree burns to over 20% of his body as a result of a defective shirt. Troy’s compassionate client advocacy has also resulted in major successes against powerful entities such as the U.S. Army and the Illinois State Troopers. In recognition of these results and others, Troy was inducted into the Million Dollar Advocate’s Forum - an organization whose members include many of the top trial lawyers in the United States. Troy’s hobbies outside of the courtroom include spending time with his family, playing golf with friends, traveling and cheering on his favorite teams - the St. Louis Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys.

Debbie Champion

Debbie Champion is a founding partner in the firm Rynearson, Suess, Schnurbusch and Champion, one of the largest law firms in Missouri. Ms. Champion actively practices in Missouri and Southern Illinois state and federal courts. She has argued before the Missouri Supreme Court and the Eastern, Western and Southern District Missouri Courts of Appeals, and the Illinois Court of Appeals. She has also argued in the federal court of the United States District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri, and the Eighth Circuit and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. She is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. She has tried over 160 trials to verdict. Ms. Champion has been named to the top 50 attorneys in St Louis and the top 100 attorneys in Missouri. She honored by the St. Louis Small Business Magazine as a “Wonder Woman” and by the St Louis Business Journal as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Business Women in St. Louis. She was selected to the Best Business Attorneys by the Small Business Journal in 2023. She a 100 St. Louis Titans in Business for 2022 and 2023. In 2024, Champion received the Award of Honor, the highest honor possible from the Lawyer’s Association of St. Louis. Champion has been selected to the Best Lawyers in America. She appears on the Best Lawyers lists in five areas: Personal Injury Litigation-Defendants, Insurance Law, Government Relations, Litigation-Insurance, and Ethics. She is currently the Lawyer of the Year in Missouri for Personal Injury-Defense. She was 2020 Lawyer of the Year for Missouri in Litigation-Insurance. She appears in the America’s Top 100 Attorneys List and received the Lawyer’s Lawyer Award by the Women’s Justice Awards. Champion is an “Acritis Star”. She is on the Power 30 list of Civil Defense Attorneys-an award recognizing the 30 most powerful civil defense attorneys in the state. Champion is a Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America, and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. For several years, Ms. Champion has been named as one of the top 50 Women Lawyers in Missouri and Kansas. She achieved the most Defense Verdicts in Missouri in 2012 and 2013 and one of the largest Defense Wins in 2011 and 2019. In 2016, Champion received an award for Outstanding Litigation Practitioner by the Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly’s Women Justice Awards. She was honored as one of Ten Outstanding Young St. Louisans by the St. Louis Junior Chamber of Commerce. She is rated as Superb on AVVO.com. In 2013, she received the CLMP certification as a certified litigation management professional from her study at the Columbia School of Law in New York. In addition to her heavy trial calendar and office responsibilities at the firm, Ms. Champion devotes many hours to community and charitable causes, and she actively provides legal services to the indigent. She is a recipient of the William McAlpin Pro Bono Award, an Outstanding Volunteer Award from Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, and the Missouri Pro Bono Publico Award from the Missouri Bar Association. She was recently honored by the Women’s Law Caucus of Washington University for her commitment to the advancement of women in the law. She was selected as an Outstanding Young Alumni of Washington University in 2012. She was awarded the Peter Perlman Award for 2019 for the Litigation Counsel of America, an award highlighting a career of community service. Ms. Champion serves on the Board of Lift for Life Academy, the first charter school in the City of St. Louis. She is founder and president of Tools for Schools, a not-for-profit corporation which provides stipends to public school teachers who strive to provide enrichment to their classrooms. She has served on numerous boards for business entities and non-profit companies in the St. Louis area. Ms. Champion serves as an expert witness on insurance bad faith and vexatious refusal to pay cases. She has authored several published articles and book chapters. She often presents educational seminars to clients and to the legal community, including several annual conference presentations to industry groups each year. Ms. Champion is an Advocate member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national association of experienced trial lawyers and judges dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the civil jury trial. She is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance. She is a Fellow in the American Bar Foundation, and she is proud to be a Master in the Theodore McMillian Inns of Court.

Sam Rynearson

Sam Rynearson is a founding partner of the firm. He has over 47 years of trial experience in the area of civil litigation, primarily in the representation of the insurance industry. Mr. Rynearson handles litigation in the state and federal courts of Missouri. He holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has been recognized as a Missouri Super Lawyer for many years. Mr. Rynearson has been honored by “Best Lawyers in America” and he has been named by St. Louis Magazine as one of the Top Attorneys in the St. Louis area. He is a Fellow in Litigation Counsel of America and is a Member of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC). Mr. Rynearson is a past President of the Association of Defense Counsel of St. Louis. He served as Chairperson of the Products, General Liability and Consumer Law Committee, Tort & Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association in 1986-1987. He is a former Editor of the Product Liability Newsletter of the Committee. Mr. Rynearson has lectured on topics including insurance coverage matters, bad faith failure to settle, The Federal Rules of Evidence, Comparative Fault, Cross-examination Techniques and Use of Expert Accident Reconstruction Evidence. He is the Author of Exclusion of Expected or Intended Injuries and Damages in CGL policies published by the Forum of the American Bar Tort Insurance Practice Section, and in the National Review of Insurance Law. Mr. Rynearson is a licensed pilot who holds an instrument rating. He enjoys travel, reading and fishing.

Adam Bragee

Adam graduated cum laude from Southern Illinois University in 2011, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Southern Illinois University School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 2014. He focuses his practice on personal injury and workers’ compensation matters. Adam has significant experience in trying both bench and jury trials. He has also successfully argued before the Fifth District Appellate Court of Illinois. He has been selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Only 2.5% of lawyers under 40 nominated for the distinction are selected. He has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of his clients. Adam has tried workers’ compensation cases and has successfully argued workers’ compensation appeals. Being raised in a small town, many of his friends and family worked in the same trades as the clients he represents. Having an understanding of the physical and dangerous nature of those jobshelps him relate to his clients. He is passionate about fighting for their rights, and ensuring they receive maximum compensation for their injuries. Adam is admitted to practice law in Illinois, Missouri and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. During his free time, Adam enjoys golfing, being outdoors and spending time with his family. He and his family reside in Edwardsville, Illinois, where they are parishioners at St. Boniface Catholic Church.

Jeff Suess

Jeff Suess is a founding partner and managing partner of the firm. He is a Martindale-Hubbell AV rated attorney with 30 years of courtroom and alternative dispute resolution experience. Mr. Suess maintains an active litigation practice in both Missouri and Illinois where he has tried over 120 cases to verdict. He has tried cases in both state and federal courts and practices before all levels of Appellate courts in Missouri and the Federal Fifth and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Suess is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated attorney and has been recognized as a Missouri Super Lawyer since 2011. He was licensed in Missouri in 1985 and in Illinois in 1986. He spent the first 15 years of his legal career as a litigator with Evans & Dixon in St. Louis, Missouri. While in law school, he clerked for the Honorable David Noce, U.S. Magistrate in 1985. He has served as a Special Representative of the Twenty-Second Judicial Bar Committee for the Missouri Bar Association. He has contributed to the updating of the Missouri Bar CLE Book on Civil Procedure and he drafted the manual, Basic Consideration and Rules for the Handling of Missouri Cases. Mr. Suess lectures regularly to bar and client groups on various topics including automobile, premises liability, and construction defect Issues, the handling of liens and subrogation interests, and insurance coverage matters. He has served on the Missouri Bar Committee on Civil Procedure and as an ethics investigator for the Missouri Bar. He presently serves on the steering committee for the Trial Tactics section of the DRI and is the liaison between the Trial Tactics and Construction Committees of the DRI. Mr. Suess is an avid soccer player and fan of the St. Louis Blues Hockey Team. He enjoys golf, travel and literature. He is the father of four active children and takes great pride in his family.

Eric J. Carlson

Eric Carlson is a resident of Edwardsville, Illinois. He earned a bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences cum laude from the University of Illinois. He received his juris doctor, magna cum laude from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1995. During law school, he served on the Board of Editors for the Southern Illinois University law review and published a case note. He was a member of Phi Kappa Phi legal fraternity, the Order of Barristers and the Southern Illinois American Inn of Court. He served on and was later captain of the national Products Liability Moot Court Team. Mr. Carlson also clerked for John P. Womick & Associates. Following law school, Mr. Carlson began working as an associate for Jon G. Carlson in 1995. He became a shareholder of the firm in 1998 and a named partner in 1999. Carlson & Carlson, P.C. concentrated its practice in products liability, medical malpractice, vehicular and trucking accident litigation and has secured multiple substantial verdicts and settlements. The firm also represented injured railroad workers under the Federal Employer's Liability Act. In July 2010, Carlson & Carlson, P.C., and Byron, Gerber, Petri & Kalb, LLC merged to form Byron, Carlson, Petri & Kalb, LLC. Mr. Carlson was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1995 and the Missouri Bar in 1996. He is admitted to practice in the United States District Courts for the Southern District of Illinois (1996), the Central District of Illinois (1996) and the Eastern District of Missouri (1996). He is also admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (1996), the Eighth Circuit (1998) and the Sixth Circuit (2001). Mr. Carlson is a member of the American, Illinois and Missouri Bar Associations. He is a past president of the Madison County Bar Association. He is, also, a member of the American Association for Justice, formerly known as the American Trial Lawyers Association. He belongs to the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association where he served on the Board of Managers for 18 years. He has also previously served on the Board of Advocates and the Executive Committee for the Illinois Trial Lawyers, and was a co-chair of the Young Lawyers Committee. Mr. Carlson was recently named to the Board of Directors for ISBA Mutual Insurance Company in 2021. Also, in 2021 Mr. Carlson was named as an approved mediator in the recently approved Mandatory Mediation Program for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Notably, Mr. Carlson was intricately involved in the cases that successfully challenged the Illinois Tort Reform Act of 1995 in the landmark decision of Best v. Taylor Machine Works, Inc., 179 Ill.2d 367, 689 N.E.2d 1057 (Ill. 1997). As a result of the work performed in Best, Mr. Eric Carlson was recognized by the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice as a 1998 Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist. Another reported case of interest is Isbell v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 318 Ill.App.3d 1011 (Ill. App. 5th Dist. 2001). Mr. Eric Carlson has successful trial experience in cases involving wrongful death, medical malpractice, products liability, trucking and automobile accidents and FELA matters. He has tried cases in State and Federal Courts in Illinois and Missouri. In September and November 2010, Eric Carlson and Jon Carlson, received verdicts of $2.5 million, and $3.3 million in back to back catastrophic injury cases at the Madison County, Illinois courthouse. Eric J. Carlson was raised in the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Area, and graduated from Edwardsville High School in 1988. After undergraduate and law school, Mr. Carlson returned to the Edwardsville area, where he currently resides with his wife and three children.

Patrick G. Johnston

Patrick Johnston has concentrated his practice for over thirty-three years in personal injury litigation and criminal defense. Patrick has obtained millions of dollars for clients from injuries associated with automobile accidents, trucking accidents, personal injuries, falls, on the job injuries, and from defective products. He has been selected as a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Group for multiple recoveries in excess of a million dollars. He graduated from Edwardsville High School and attended Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, Illinois where he graduated with honors. He completed his law school education at St. Louis University School of Law. He has actively practiced in Southern Illinois and Missouri since 1990, including a position as Assistant State’s Attorney for the Madison County State’s Attorney’s office. In 2003 he opened Johnston Law Offices, P.C., which is located in his hometown of Edwardsville, Illinois.