Attorney Profile

Tulsa, Oklahoma Mediation and Arbitration Attorney Richard E. Comfort

Over a career that spans nearly 50 years, Tulsa, Oklahoma attorney Richard E. Comfort has been a public school teacher, a judge, a businessman, a pilot and a professional musician.

Born in 1937 in El Paso, Texas, Richard E. Comfort attended the University of Arkansas and Arkansas A & M College (now the University of Arkansas at Monticello), completing requirements for a B.S.E degree in 1960. He attended law school at University of Arkansas (Little Rock Division) and University of Tulsa, graduating in the top 10 percent of the class from the latter with a Juris Doctor degree in April of 1970.

Mr. Comfort received a number of awards while he was in law school, including: Corpus Juris Secundum Award, Contracts (1967), American Jurisprudence Award, Legislation (1970) and American Jurisprudence Award, Jurisprudence (1970).

In 1974, he graduated from the National College of State Judiciary in Reno, Nevada, 1974 and from the National College of State Judiciary Graduate New Trends Program in 1977.

He completed mediation training with Michael S. Gillie, Founder, Executive Director and Chief Mediator of United States Arbitration and Mediation, Inc. in Seattle, Washington in 1988.

In 1990, Mr. Comfort trained as Adjunct Settlement Judge with Tulsa County Adjunct Settlement Judge Program, a joint project of the Tulsa County District Court and the City of Tulsa Municipal Court, May 1990 and served as an adjunct settlement judge for two years. He participated in advanced mediation training at the Attorney-Mediators Institute in Houston, Texas in 1995 and at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California in 1999

Richard E. Comfort is a private pilot with instrument rating.

Employment Positions

Mr. Comfort was a high school band director and teacher in Fordyce, Sheridan and Little Rock, Arkansas Schools (1957 1967). At the same time he was teaching, Mr. Comfort managed several family-owned convenience stores in Little Rock and Hot Springs, Arkansas.

While he was attending law school, Mr. Comfort worked as sales and credit manager for a large regional music retailer in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While he was working for the music company and going to school, Mr. Comfort was also a clerk and legal intern for two of Tulsa's largest law firms in 1968 and 1969.

From 1970 - 1974 Mr. Comfort began his private law practice in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Richard E. Comfort played tuba, string bass and piano professionally. He played nine years for Ringing Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus as well as touring Broadway productions when they played in Little Rock, Arkansas.

From 1974-1978 he was a Special Judge for the 14th Judicial District (comprised of Tulsa and Pawnee Counties) in Oklahoma.

1978 - 1981 he served as District Judge, 14th Judicial District, State of Oklahoma. He headed the automated jury instructions project for the Tulsa County District Court resulting in regularly used jury instructions being available on word processing for each Judge, saving time and improving the quality of the work product. He also chaired a joint committee of the Tulsa County Bar and the judges of the Fourteenth Judicial District to restructure the jury selection and summoning process of Tulsa County, 1979-80 The restructured system resulted in a more representative cross-section of jurors available for jury panels and also diminished the hardship on individual jurors by making their length of service shorter. In 1980, he was named Outstanding State Trial Judge in the State of Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association.

In 1981, Mr. Comfort returned to private practice. He was shareholder, senior attorney and head of commercial litigation team at Oklahoma's largest law firm. In 1984, he served as presiding Judge for the Oklahoma Court of Appeals (Temporary Division #199).

From 1986 -1992, he was founding shareholder and managing partner, of Comfort, Lipe & Green, P.C. of Tulsa. He was a mediator and arbitrator for U.S. Arbitration and Mediation, Inc., Southwest, 1987 to 1992, handling cases in Tulsa and all Eastern Oklahoma. He conducted numerous mediations, arbitrations and settlement conferences, mini-trials and other ADR procedures beginning in 1981. He also acted as court-appointed special master in supervision of discovery under appointment by various judges and courts.

From 1992 to present, Mr. Comfort has been in private practice, concentrating in alternative dispute resolution and commercial litigation. Participated in Shadow Trials in Virginia and Oklahoma a concerning large antitrust litigation. Charter Member, Adjunct Settlement Conference Judge Panel for the Early Settlement Program, a joint project of Tulsa County District Court and the City of Tulsa Municipal Court, May 1990 to December, 1992. Frequent lecturer on litigation topics and the use of computers in litigation practice.

Professional and Community Affiliations and Memberships

Admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, April 17, 1970.

Admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, October 21,1970. Also admitted to the United States District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma and to the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Court-approved member of the mediator panel for the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma court annexed alternative dispute resolution program.

Member of Oklahoma Bar Association. House of Delegates, 1985-1987. House of Delegates, 1989-1991.

Member American Bar Association. (1973-2001) Life Member, Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. Trustee, Oklahoma Bar Foundation, 1992-1993. Member Tulsa County Bar Association.

Member, Library Board of Trustees, 1982-83.

Member, Judicial Candidates Committee, 1983-84,

Chairman, Court Operations Committee, 1990-1991.

Member, Fee Arbitration Committee, 1993 Member. Association for conflict resolution

Member Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity, and named its Outstanding Senior for 1969.

Member Rotary Club of Tulsa.

Paul Harris Fellow

Community Fellow

Past Sergeant at Arms and Director

Past Chairman, Camp Enterprise

Past Chairman, Classification Committee

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