Alton W. Payne is an attorney and a mediator/arbitrator. He has worked as a physical scientist and collage professor. Al has been a practicing attorney for over 25 years specializing in intellectual property and technology-related law. He received his J.D. in Intellectual Property Law in 1982 from Franklin Pierce Law Center, his Ph.D. in Medical Physics (Instrumentation) in 1979 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering in 1976 from North Carolina State University, and his B.S. in Physics and Mathematics (double major) in 1971 from The University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He served as a Lieutenant in the NOAA Commissioned Corps after receiving his commission from the United States Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. Since 1989, he has received the highest rating ("av") from Martindale-Hubbell law publication, and since 2000 has been rated by Lexis-Nexis as one of the Preeminent Attorneys practicing intellectual property law.

Al has practiced in the areas of patent, trademark, copyright, instrumentation, architecture, trade secret, franchising, computer law and related antitrust matters, including litigation, mediation, arbitration, and mini-trials with over 20 years experience as a neutral having mediated a single case with over 200 parties. Dr. Payne worked as a physical scientist for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, has taught law, engineering and statistics at the University of Houston and New Hampshire Technical Institute, and has served as an expert witness in complex technical litigation. He is a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and the Houston Bar Foundation, was Who's Who Among American Law Students, Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, received a U.S. Public Health Service Fellowship, received the Bendix Award for the "Design and Construction of a Pulsed-Ruby Laser" and was inducted into the Sigma Pi Sigma National Physics Honor Society. Al has written both legal and technical articles and has published in peer review publications.