On The Bench and Beyond: A Fireside Conversation with the Former Chief Judge Robert H. Henry (10th Circuit, Ret.)

Former Chief Judge Robert H. Henry was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in 1994. Judge Henry served in that position for 16 years, the last two as Chief Judge. He has written over 750 decisions. In 2010 Chief Judge Henry stepped down from the bench to come President of Oklahoma City University, a position he held until 2018. Prior to his judicial service, he was Dean and Professor of Law at Oklahoma City University School of Law where he taught legislation and statutory construction. Before his academic work he was Attorney General of Oklahoma (re-elected without opposition) and was active in the National Association of Attorneys General where he chaired the Association’s Committees on Agricultural Law and Civil Rights; he was also a member of the Association’s Supreme Court Advocacy Committee, which provided moot courts for all cases argued by Attorneys General before the Supreme Court of the United States. Before serving as Attorney General, he practiced in the law firm of Henry, West, Sill, and Combs in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Thomas Vertetis is a seasoned trial lawyer dedicated to representing individuals and families in high-stakes cases involving medical malpractice, wrongful death, sexual abuse, product liability, civil rights, and complex aviation litigation. Over the course of his career, he has tried more than 60 cases to verdict, securing significant results. These include a $165 million product liability verdict against Monsanto on behalf of seven school employees exposed to PCBs, a $13.95 million medical malpractice verdict for a young adult who suffered a stroke during a cardiac procedure, and a federal civil rights verdict involving the violation of a disabled student’s constitutional rights.