Wayne M. Willoughby, an Owings Mills attorney, is president of the Maryland Association for Justice, formerly the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association.
"Simon's death is so very sad. He was a great man and a truly compassionate and wonderful attorney," Mr. Willoughby said.
Mr. Walton had chaired the organization's pro bono and diversity committees.
"Simon's concern for our society extended beyond working to provide the needy access to the courts and bringing diversity to the bar," Mr. Willoughby wrote in a statement to MAJ members announcing Mr. Walton's death.
"For many years, Simon chaired MAJ's charity programs for purchasing and distributing free smoke detectors and free bicycle helmets to economically disadvantaged families and children," he wrote.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Walton championed the "Trial Lawyers Care" program whereby MAJ members joined their legal colleagues from around the nation in providing free legal representation to the victims and to families who were affected by the attacks.
"His was a leading role in what became the biggest pro bono representation project in American history," Ms. Schultheis said.
Additionally, his work with Access Maryland led to numerous institutions and businesses across Maryland being brought into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In 1996, Mr. Walton coordinated the work of 15 attorneys who volunteered with Access Maryland and identified businesses that were in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Given that Towson Town Center is a splendid modern facility, it really ought to comply with the law," Mr. Walton told The Daily Record in a 1996 interview, regarding the fact that its restrooms were not accessible to the disabled, despite being advertised as such. "It's another regrettable instance in which disabled people are rather forgotten," he said.
In a 2001 case regarding wheelchair access to the Bank of America's historic branch at 10 Light St. in downtown Baltimore, Mr. Walton eloquently explained to U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis, who presided over the case, "Your honor, it may be a golden tower, but it has feet of clay."
"Simon was an unrivaled and rounded human being, loving father and generous friend," Mr. Cullen said. "He was also an expert in French wine and Scottish single malt whiskeys. He had one of the finest wine cellars in Baltimore, plus a great cache of single malt scotches that he would share with anyone."
