Fred is a nationally renowned expert on consumer finance law and the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and serves as “Of Counsel” at Gray Plant Mooty. He is a member of the Commercial Financial Services practice group and advises counsel for both privately-held and public companies in a wide range of finance matters. Fred also has extensive experience with cases involving electronic fund transfer fraud, checking account fraud, perfection of security interests, and transfer of investment securities.
Fred was a distinguished professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law for 40 years where he taught courses on commercial law, consumer law, contracts, and real estate finance transactions. At various times throughout his career, he has served as a consultant to attorneys and clients with respect to the Truth in Lending Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and other federal consumer finance laws; as an expert witness and consultant to attorneys handling consumer finance law and commercial law cases; and as a consultant to the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit on consumer credit regulations, statutory amendments, and cases.
Fred is also the author or coauthor of over 100 articles, books, or book chapters.
Publications
- “Aftermath of the SemGroup Case,” coauthor, 81 Okla. Bar Journal 1, December 11, 2010
- “Uniform Commercial Code Article 2 on Sale of Goods and the Uniform Law Process: A True Story of Good v. ?,” 11 Duquesue L. Rev. 143, 2009
- “Prime Interest Rates for Subprime Borrowers,” 26 Ga. State L. Rev. 1259, 2010
- “A Perspective on the Regulation B ‘Effects Test’,” 62 Bus. Law 559, February 2007
- “Introduction to 2007 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law,” coauthor, 62 Bus. Law 553, February 2007
- “Modem Payment Methods: ACH, Credit, Debit and More,” American Bar Association, 2007
- “The Uniform Law Process for the Development of Private State Law in the United States: A Model for Other Systems?” 60 Consumer Fin. Law Quart. Rpt., Spring 2006
- “Update on Uniform Laws Affecting Consumer Credit,” 60 Consumer Fin. Law. Law Quart. Rpt. 238, Summer 2006
- “Writing Your Own Rules: Contracting Out of (and Into) the Uniform Commercial Code; Interstate Choice of Law,” 40 Loyola of Los Angeles L. Rev. 217, 2006
- “Introduction to 2006 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law,” coauthor, 61 Bus. Law 797, February 2006
- “International Legal Developments and Uniform State Laws: A Radical Proposal?” 60 Consumer Fin. Law Quart. Rpt. 402, Fall 2006
- “Introduction to 2005 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law,” coauthor, 60 Bus. Law. 611, February 2005
- “Sales and Leases of Goods (Nutshell),” West Publishing Company, 2003
- “ABCs of the UCC: Article 1,” American Bar Association, 2002
- “The State of the Uniform Commercial Code—2000,” 42 UCC Bulletin 1, 2001
- “Intrastate Choice of Applicable Law in the UCC,” 53 SMU Law Review 101, 2001
- “Uniform Laws—Possible Useful Tribal Legislation,” coauthor, 56 Tulsa L. 1. 101, 2001
- “The Oklahoma Uniform Electronic Transactions Act,” 32 Briefcase I, 2000
- “Modernizing the UCC for the New Millennium,” 25 Okla. City Univ. L. Rev. 189, 2000
- “Introduction to the 1999 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law,” coauthor, 55 The Business Lawyer 1255, 2000
- “Revised UCC Article 9,” chapter in Hawkland UCC Series, coauthor, West Group, 2000
- “Oklahoma Comments on Revised Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 and on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act,” West Publishing Company Oklahoma Statutes, Annotated 2000
- “ABC’s of the UCC: Related Insolvency Law,” coauthor, American Bar Association, 2002
- “UCC Article 1 (Revised),” chapter in Hawkland UCC Series, West Group, 2002 and annual supplements
Presentations
- Commercial Law Program, Skirvin Hilton, Oklahoma City, OK, 2010
- Oklahoma Supreme Court Sovereignty Symposiums, Oklahoma City, OK, 2006–2010
- “Consumer Credit 2010,” Southlake, TX, October 28–29, 2010
- “Consumer Credit 2009,” Dallas, TX, November 5–6, 2009
- "Payment System Issues," American Bar Association Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA, 2007
- "Secured Transactions and Payments Law," Oklahoma Bar Association, Fall 2006, Spring 2007
- Sovereignty Symposiums, 2000, 2005, 2007
- Annual Commercial Law Update, Oklahoma City, OK, 2001–2007
- "Consumer Credit," Dallas, TX, 2005–2006
- "The Emerged and Emerging New Uniform Commercial Code," ALI-ABA, 2001–2006
- "Global Issues in Law and Finance," London and Zurich, 2005
- "Consumer Financial Services in the 21st Century," Honolulu, HI, 2004
- Uniform Commercial Code Institute, Chicago, IL, 2004
- "Commercial Financial Transactions," Oklahoma Bar Association, 2004
- "The Uniform Law Process: Lessons for a New Millennium," Oklahoma City University, 2002
- "The Emerged and Emerging New Uniform Commercial Code," ALI-ABA, New York, November 2000
- "Secured Lending Transactions Under Revised UCC Article 9," Dallas, TX, May 19, 2000
- "Truth in Lending Law, Regulation, Litigation, and Compliance," San Antonio, TX, March 14–15, 2000
- Commercial Law Update, Oklahoma City, OK, 2000
- National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington, DC, 2000
Education
- University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 1962
Phi Beta Kappa
Phi Kappa Phi
Order of the Coif - University of Michigan, A.B., 1959
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 2011
- Oklahoma, 1968
- Ohio, 1962
Professional Activities
- American Bar Association, Business Law Section, Uniform Commercial Code Committee, former chair; Committee on Uniform Commercial Code; Consumer Financial Services Law Committee
- American Bar Foundation, fellow
- American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers
- American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers, Writing Competition Committee, former chair
- American Law Institute
- Association of American Law Schools
- National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, Oklahoma Commissioner; Past Presidents’ Millennium Committee, reporter; Uniform Consumer Credit Code, co-reporter; former executive director, secretary, vice president, and president
- Oklahoma Bar Association, Uniform Laws Committee, chair; Financial Institutions and Commercial Law Section, member and chair, 1998-1999
- Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity
- Uniform Commercial Code, Permanent Editorial Board, member and former chair