Lawyers

Andy Walding is recognized by Martindale-Hubbell as an AV® rated attorney. Since graduating from law school in 1990, he has litigated numerous and complex business, accounting, and other disputes in state and federal courts sitting in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Minnesota, and Nebraska. Until July 31, 2014, before co-founding Walding & Patton PLLC, with Blake Patton, he was a shareholder in a large law firm in downtown Oklahoma City.Before enrolling in law school, Andy spent two years in public accounting at the Tulsa office of a multi-national CPA firm. He left public accounting, and spent nine years in the natural gas liquids business. In 1987, after trading natural gas liquids in the Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast markets for several years, he sold his one-half interest in an ngl marketing company, and entered the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

With his extensive background in accounting and business, Andy’s practice is and always has been commercially oriented. He has handled complicated and intricate business litigation matters, business divorces, contract disputes, oil and gas issues, trust and estate controversies, and other business disputes. He also provides representation to business clients caught up in the divorce courts, and before state and federal taxing authorities.

Andy is a thorough, analytical problem solver. He understands litigation from the business client’s perspective.

Education:
University of Oklahoma
B.B.A. (Accounting) (1976)
College of Law, J.D. (1990)

Admissions And Memberships:
• Oklahoma Bar No. 14349 (admitted in 1990)
• Admitted to practice in all federal courts in Oklahoma; the United States Tax Court; and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• Member, American Bar Association
• Member, Oklahoma Bar Association
• Member, Oklahoma County Bar Association
• Member, Cleveland County Bar Association
• Listed, Best Lawyers in America® 2015, Commercial Litigation
• Certified Public Accountant (Okla. 4720)
• Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Member, Oklahoma Society of CPAs
• Ten year non-industry Oklahoma Funeral Board Member (2004–2014)

Blake Patton has a diverse civil litigation practice before state and federal courts, and administrative agencies. He is admitted to practice before all Oklahoma state courts, all Oklahoma federal courts, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Although his primary focus is civil litigation and trial practice, Mr. Patton has represented clients in federal white-collar criminal investigations and prosecutions, including federal R.I.C.O. prosecutions. Mr. Patton has also provided testimony before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board regarding death row inmate clemency issues.Mr. Patton has authored published articles on topics related to Constitutional law and Oklahoma weapons law. A 2009 law review article authored by Mr. Patton was cited by the Office of the Attorney General for the state of Tennessee in an Opinion related to the constitutionality of SB3002, a bill related to a Tennessee business owner’s ability to ban firearms from their property.

Education:
In 2007, Mr. Patton received his B.B.A., magna cum laude in accounting from the University of Oklahoma Price College of Business, while also minoring in history. While pursing his undergraduate degree, Mr. Patton became a licensed broker with the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission (license no. 146681).

In 2011, Mr. Patton received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. During law school, Mr. Patton served as Assistant Articles Editor for the Oklahoma Law Review. He competed in the 2009 Burton D. Wechsler First Amendment moot court tournament at American University in Washington, D.C., as well as the 2010 Chicago Bar Association moot court tournament. As a third-year law student, Mr. Patton served as a Carl Albert Executive Fellow for the Oklahoma Department of Securities, Enforcement Division.

Admissions And Memberships:
Mr. Patton is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Oklahoma County Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association. He is also a member of the Associate Board of Oklahoma Lawyers for Children, Inc., Oklahoma American Civil Liberties Union, and Friends of the Plaza District.

In 2012, Mr. Patton was honored by iON OK with the distinction of being one of the top 30 Oklahomans under the age of 30. Mr. Patton and his wife Katie live in Oklahoma City, and have a passion for traveling. Mr. Patton enjoys fly fishing, and has been an instructor at the Illinois River Fly Fishing School for over a decade. He also enjoys documentary films, and worked as a production assistant on the 2009 HBO Documentary “Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo,” filmed on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. In college, Mr. Patton worked as an intern for the Today Show in New York City, the American Film Institute in Silver Springs, Maryland, and the Washington Nationals baseball team in Washington D.C.

Published Cases:
– Burns v. Cline, 2014 OK 90, __ P.3d ___ (in a unanimous opinion, obtained emergency injunctive relief from the Supreme Court of Oklahoma prohibiting the enforcement of Senate Bill 1848, 2014 Okla. Sess. Laws ch. 370)

– Okla. Coal. for Reprod. Justice v. Cline, 2014 OK 91, __ P.3d __ (in a unanimous opinion, obtained emergency injunctive relief from the Supreme Court of Oklahoma prohibiting the enforcement of House Bill 2684, 2014 Okla. Sess. Laws ch. 121)