Gerald Hilsher

Background

About Gerald Hilsher

After a 40 year career as a trial and appellate attorney, mediator, and arbitrator in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I retired from McAfee & Taft law firm and my wife and I moved to Eugene, Oregon in January 2020 to be closer to our children and grandchildren. My original plan was to pursue an arbitration and mediation practice. However, the Covid Pandemic halted those plans as my wife and I became full time babysitters of a three-year-old and a newborn so that my daughter and her husband (both lawyers) could work from home. Following graduation from the University of Texas law school in 1979, I practiced law in Tulsa, Oklahoma with an emphasis in trial and appellate work. The majority of my practice has involved complex commercial litigation, business torts (e.g, tortious interference with contract, breach of fiduciary duty), environmental litigation, real estate litigation, professional malpractice litigation, and mediation/arbitration. I have been a federal adjunct settlement judge in the Northern District of Oklahoma since 1992 and in the Tulsa County District Courts since 2007. I was formerly a member of the Commercial Mediation and Arbitration panel. As an attorney for the State's largest law firm, McAfee & Taft, I have been recognized as a Super Lawyer in business litigation, and named a Top 50 SuperLawyer in Oklahoma for 2016 and 2017. I was named a Best Lawyer in America for commercial litigation, environmental litigation, real estate litigation, and appellate practice, and "Best Lawyer in Tulsa" for Mediation in 2020. I have been active in state and local bar activities and a regular presenter at CLE seminars on ethical issues, environmental matters, and civil procedure topics. Early in my career, I was a state prosecutor in Austin, TX, and Assistant U.S. Attorney in Tulsa, OK. I spent two years (1987-89) in the U.S. Treasury Department as Deputy Assistant Secretary (Law Enforcement) in charge of the nation's anti-money laundering initiatives, including supervision of Bank Secrecy Act enforcement and coordination with FinCEN. The U.S. Treasury law enforcement agencies of U.S. Customs, U.S. Secret Service, and Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms reported to the Department through me. As a private practitioner, I have used those skills in conducting corporate investigations and in grand jury investigations impacting clients. Skills: Complex Commercial Litigation, Environmental Litigation, Appellate Practice, Real Estate Litigation, Fiduciary Litigation, Mediation/Arbitration, Administrative Law, and White Collar Criminal Defense.