Focus Areas of Practice
- Design Professional Liability Defense – represent Architects and Engineers faced with claims of professional negligence including alleged design errors and project administration.
- Environmental and Toxic Tort Defense – represent industry members, including energy companies, agricultural operators, and manufacturers faced with claims for environmental releases or contamination alleged to cause property, natural resource or personal injuries.
- Construction Defect Litigation – represent property owners, contractors, suppliers and Design Professionals in matters involving claims of defective construction on residential, multi-family, commercial, and industrial properties.
- General Commercial Litigation – represent business and individual clients in disputes arising from contractual relationships and torts.
- Mediation Services – Certified Mediator and Adjunct Settlement Judge providing service as private mediator in professional liability, construction, environmental and commercial disputes.
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Professional Organizations
- Tulsa County Bar Association – former Member of the Professional Ethics / Grievance Committee
- Claims and Litigation Management Alliance – Construction and Real Estate Editor for the Journal of American Law
- Professional Liability Defense Federation - Member
- Professional Liability Underwriters Society - Member
- The Defense Research Institute - Member
- Transportation Lawyers Association – Member
- Federal Bar Association – Member
- Historical Society of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals – Life Member
Lectures
- Admissibility of Expert Evidence at Trial – Environmental Federation of Oklahoma Annual Meeting 2017, Oklahoma City, OK
- "Just Add Water - A Claim Exposé" -- Design Professional Risk Control Group Convocation, Invited Speaker, 2015, Phoenix, AZ
- “Agriculture and the Issue of Natural Resource Damages” – University of Tulsa School of Law, National Energy-Environmental Law and Policy Institute, 2005, Tulsa, OK
- "Compliance with Statutes and Regulations is No Safe Harbor Against Claims for Negligence" – International Petroleum Environmental Conference 1996, Albuquerque, NM
Publications
- "The Misuse of Estimates in Forensic Delay Analysis," Vol. 59, No. 2 For the Defense 62 (Defense Research Institute 2017)
- “Architect and Engineer Immunity Under Workers' Compensation Statutes: A 50-State Survey,” 2 Journal of American Law 39 (2015)
- “Oklahoma Lien Law,” Construction Publications, Inc., www.lienlawonline.com, 2007 – present
- “Compliance With Statutes and Regulations: No Safe Harbor Against Liability for Common-Law Negligence,” Proceedings of the Third International Petroleum Environmental Conference 1996
- “The Good, The Bad, and the Unqualified: The Public Interest and the Unregulated Practice of General Contracting in Oklahoma,” 29 Tulsa Law Journal 799 (1994)
Professional Honors
- Professional Engineer, North Carolina 1986 (Retired)
- Professional Engineer, Oklahoma 1992 (Retired)
- Tulsa County Bar Association, Leadership in the Law Award, 2008
- Martindale-Hubbell Rated AV®
- Leadership Oklahoma, Graduate, Class XXVII
- Super Lawyer® 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Community Leadership
- Elected Member of the Board of Education, Union Public Schools, Oklahoma’s eighth largest district, served as Board Chair five terms, 1999 to 2014
- Ex Officio Trustee, Unions Schools Education Foundation, numerous terms, 1999 to 2010
- Director, Community Non-Profit operating homeless shelter and Family and Youth Center for at-risk population, 2008 to present, Board Chair 2012, Recipient of the Geisinger Award for distinguished Board service, 2012
- Founding Board Member, Non-Profit operating a residential alcohol and drug recovery program as an alternative to incarceration, 2009 to 2018
- Scoutmaster and Assistant Scout Master, 1981 to 1990, 1995 to 1997
Education
- Juris Doctor, University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa, OK, 1995
- Gable Gotwals 1L Student of the Year
- Merit Scholarship
- Order of the Curule Chair
- Managing Editor, Tulsa Law Journal, 1994 to 1995
- Graduated first in class
- B.S. in Civil Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 1981
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