Richard Wingfield Horton

Richard W. Horton was a prominent Reno attorney and native Nevadan, born July 25, 1926 at the Miner's Hospital in Tonopah, Nevada, where his father was active in mining. He graduated in 1944 from Humboldt County High School in Winnemucca and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1944 to 1946, and again during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953, retiring as a Lt. Cdr., USNR. He attended Gonzaga University in Spokane and graduated from the University of Washington in 1947, then earned his Juris Doctor degree from Hastings College of Law in 1950.

He began his legal career in 1950 as a partner with the law firm of Stewart & Horton, an association he continued for 30 years. In 1980 he became a Senior Partner in the Las Vegas and Reno law firm of Lionel, Sawyer and Collins, specializing in the litigation of business disputes, a role he held until his death. He was a member of the Nevada State Bar from 1950, the American Bar Association from 1951, and the American Judicature Society from 1951 until his death. He was listed from the inception of publication in Best Lawyers in America as particularly skilled in commercial law and bankruptcy.

Over his long career he held many offices and honors, including President of the Washoe Bar Association (1969-70), President of the Northern Nevada Trial Lawyers (1967-68), President of the Nevada Trial Lawyers (1971), and Fellow of the Commercial Law Foundation (1969-2008). He was also active in civic and political life, serving as Chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party (1957-59), a Republican candidate for Congress in 1956, and chairman or co-chairman of Governor and Senator Paul Laxalt's campaigns as well as all of Barbara Vucanovich's eight election campaigns. Among his peers he was warmly regarded and respected as an attorney of superior ability who invariably practiced the utmost in fairness and honesty while tenaciously pursuing his clients' interests.