Attorney Profiles

Tim D. Cain is a partner in the firm. He was admitted to the bar in 1986 and is admitted to all District Courts and Federal District Courts of Oklahoma and the U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit.

Education: University of Oklahoma (B.B.A. with Distinction 1983; J.D., 1986); Phi Delta Theta Social Fraternity; Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity.

Member: Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Bar Associations; Oklahoma School Board Attorneys Association; Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel; Defense Research Institute; National Institute of Trial Advocacy; American Inns of Court; named yearly as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer by Oklahoma Magazine.

Mr. Cain has taught continuing education courses to attorneys and insurance adjusters on a variety of topics, including Trying the Automobile Injury Case, Uninsured Motorist Law, Insurance Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage and Claim Handling. Mr. Cain has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Joseph T. Acquaviva, Jr. is a partner in the firm. He was admitted to the bar in 1986 and is admitted to all District Courts and Federal Courts of Oklahoma and the U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit.

Education: Long Island University (B.A., 1983); Oklahoma City University (J.D. 1986). Guest Lecturer, L.S.U. National Institute of Trial Advocacy Training Program.

Member: Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations; National Institute of Trial Advocacy.

Mr. Acquaviva has been published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal, Discoverability of the Insurance Company’s Claims File in Third-Party Litigation, 79 OBJ 1779 (Aug. 9, 2008), Discoverability of the Insurance Company’s Claims File, 63 OBJ 1019 (March 30, 1991). He is a frequent speaker on such topics as Insurance Bad Faith, Insurance Coverage, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Law, Discovery in Civil Cases, Bad Faith Litigation, Evidence, and Expert Testimony. Named yearly as an Oklahoma Super Lawyer. In January 2017, Mr. Acquaviva was inducted into the Oklahoma section of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Stephen M. Coates joined the firm in January 2003 and works in the Tulsa office. He was admitted to the bar in 1996 and is admitted to all District Courts and Federal District Courts of Oklahoma.

Education: University of Kansas (B.A. 1990); University of Oklahoma (J.D. 1995)
Member: Tulsa County, Oklahoma and Federal Bar Associations

Kevin M. Walos joined the firm in September 2003. He was admitted to the bar in 1993 and is admitted to all District Courts and Federal District Courts of Oklahoma.

Education: State University of New York at Buffalo (B.A. 1990); University of Oklahoma (J.D. 1993); University of Houston College of Law (Master of Laws 1994)

Member: Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations, The District of Columbia Bar

Elizabeth A. Snowden joined the firm in April 2010. She was admitted to the bar in 2009 and is admitted to all District Courts and Federal District Courts of Oklahoma.

Education: Carl Albert State College (A.A., 2004); Oklahoma State University (B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 2006); University of Oklahoma (J.D., 2009). Phi Delta Phi

Member: Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations

Jennifer F. Sherrill joined the firm in November 2018. She was admitted to the bar in 2003, and is admitted to all District Courts of Oklahoma and the U.S. District Courts, Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma and Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of Texas.

Preparatory education, Hendrix College (B.A. Biology, cum laude, 1996); University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (M.S. Plant Pathology, 1998); legal education, University of Tulsa (J.D., Order of the Curule Chair, 2002)

Member: Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations, Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel

Ernest R. Walcher, III joined the firm in March 2019. He was admitted to the bar in 2018, and is admitted to all District Courts of Oklahoma and the U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma.

Preparatory education, Oklahoma State University (B.S. Sports Management, 2015; B.S. Marketing, 2015); legal education, University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., 2018)

Member: Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations

John W. Austin joined the firm in February 2021.  He was admitted to the bar in 2018, and is admitted to all District Courts of Oklahoma. 

Preparatory education, University of Oklahoma (B.A. Political Science, 2014); legal education, University of Oklahoma College of Law (J.D., 2018). 

Member:  Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Association

Roger K. Gofton joined the firm in October 2016. He was admitted to the bar in 1982, and is admitted to all District Courts of Oklahoma, New York, the Federal District Courts of Oklahoma and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

Preparatory education, Pace University (B.D., American Studies 1979); legal education, Oklahoma City University School of Law (J.D., 1982)

Fraternity: Phi Delta Phi. Oklahoma City University Law Review, 1980-1982. Recipient, E.C.A.C. Award for Scholarship and Athletic
Prowess, 1979

Member: Oklahoma County and Oklahoma Bar Associations

Melissa S. Minton joined the firm in October 2018 and works in the Tulsa office. She was admitted to the bar in 1994, and is admitted to all District Courts of Oklahoma, the U.S. Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit and the Northern, Western and Eastern Federal District Courts for Oklahoma.

Preparatory education, University of Kansas (B.A., Philosophy/Political Science 1991); legal education, University of Tulsa College of Law
(J.D. 1994)

Fraternity: Phi Delta Phi. University of Tulsa Law Review Articles Editor

Member: Oklahoma Bar Association, Tulsa County Bar Association, Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, American Inns of Court.

Tom Cordell joined Wilson Cain and Acquaviva as Of Counsel in September 2020. Tom obtained his undergraduate degree in English Literature from Oklahoma State University in 1976, and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Idaho in 1979. He was admitted to practice law in Oklahoma in 1979. From 1979 to 1981, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in McClain County. In 1981, he joined the law firm of Huckaby, Fleming & Frailey. He became a partner in 1985. He practiced as a senior partner in the Chickasha, Oklahoma law firm of Frailey, Chaffin, Cordell, Perryman & Sterkel until Septemebr 2020.

Tom is engaged in an active practice involving all facets of tort litigation, focusing on complex tort and commercial litigation, personal injury, premises liability, products liability, auto liability, construction defect, oil and gas litigation, bad faith, and insurance defense and coverage litigation, He has tried in excess of 50 cases to verdict.

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. He speaks regularly on topics of litigation, trial practice, ethics, premises liability, and insurance coverage to various legal organizations, trade groups, and companies.

Tom is active in various legal organizations. He has held numerous posiitons with the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC)(www.thefederation.org), an international legal organization founded in 1936 to further the principles of knowledge, justice and fellowship in connection with professionals involved with the defense of civil litigation. The FDCC, composed of recognized leaders in the legal community who have achieved professional distinction, is dedicated to promoting knowledge, fellowship, and professionalism of its members as they pursue the course of a balanced justice system and represent those in need of a defense in civil lawsuits. Tom served the FDCC as Secretary-Treasurer, President-Elect, President, Chair of Board. He has also been Chair of the Projects and Objectives Committee, program chair of the Trial Masters Program, General Convention Chair, Convention Program Chair, Chair of the Premises Liability Section, Chair of the Ethics Section, and Director on the Board of Directors.

He has served as President, Vice President, and member of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel. He has served as the Chair of the Insurance Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA). He has served on the Board of Directors for Defense Research Institute; and has received the Defense Research Institute’s Exceptional Performance Award. He is a member of American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a member of the Association of Defense Trial Counsel (ADTA).

Tom has served as the President of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ). LCJ is a partnership of defense bar practitioners and corporate counsel from some of the most highly recognized names in the corporate world, representing a wide range of industries including pharmaceuticals, insurance, manufacturing, oil and gas and others (including, State Farm, Eli Lilly, GSK, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Ford, Exxon, BP, GE, FedEx, Merck, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Honeywell, Pfizer, Boston Scientific). LCJ focuses on maintaining balance and relevance in the civil justice system. In particular, LCJ is a voice of perspective to Congress, the judiciary, and various federal judicial committees on proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, providing scholarly, practical, as well as real life perspectives on the impact of the Federal Rules and proposed changes to the Rules.

Tom serves as a Regent on the Board of Regents for the University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO). He has also served on the Board of the USAO Foundation. He is an Elder in the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He and his wife, Ann, reside in Edmond Oklahoma.