F. Thomas Cordell

Areas of Expertise – Auto Negligence, UM coverage, Personal Injury, Products Liability, Environmental, Oil & Gas, Insurance Coverage, Bad Faith, Premises Liability, Construction Defect, Civil Rights, Nursing Home, Commercial, Food Borne Illness, Non-Profit and Church, and Employment.

Tom Cordell has over 40 years of legal experience, during which time he has taken in excess of 50 cases to jury trial.  From 1979 to 1981, he served as an Assistant District Attorney.  In 1981, he joined the law firm of Huckaby Fleming & Frailey; becoming a partner in 1985; and continued to practice as a senior partner in this same firm in Chickasha, Oklahoma under the name of Frailey Chaffin Cordell Perryman & Sterkel, until 2020.

In September 2020, Tom joined the Oklahoma City law firm of Wilson Cain & Acquaviva as Of Counsel. He has been involved in all facets of tort litigation and insurance coverage litigation.

Tom has recently retired from the active practice of law, focusing his skills in the arenas of mediation and arbitration. He has participated as counsel in over 500 mediations since 1982. Tom obtained formal mediation training at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute on Dispute Resolution. 

He is a member of the Order of the Barristers.  He is a recipient of the Maurice Merrill Golden Quill Award, given by the OBA annually for the outstanding published article in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Tom has served and been actively involved with various legal organizations including the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel; the Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel; the Oklahoma Bar Association; the Defense Research Institute; Lawyers for Civil Justice.

Education

• Oklahoma State University – B.A. English Literature 1976. 

• University of Idaho – Juris Doctorate 1979. 

Bar Admissions

       Oklahoma Bar Association - 1979

•        Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court

• Admitted to practice before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

• Admitted to practice before the Eastern, Northern & Western Federal District Courts of Oklahoma

Dispute Resolution - Training

• Straus Dispute Resolution Institute, Pepperdine University - 2019

Professional Affiliations and Honors

• Martindale-Hubbel “AV” Preeminent Rating

• SuperLawyers

• Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel – President, 2010-11

• American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)

• Defense Research Institute - Exceptional Performance Citation, 1995

• Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel - President, 1988-9

• Lawyers for Civil Justice – President, 2016

• Oklahoma Bar Association - Chair of Insurance Section, 1990

• Oklahoma Bar Foundation – Fellow

• Chickasaw Nation Bar Association

Community Involvement

• University of Arts & Sciences of Oklahoma - Board of Regents – current

• USAO Foundation – Board of Trustees – 2012-17

• First Christian Church Disciples of Christ – Elder