founding partner
Gary S. Chilton
Gary Chilton, founding partner of Holladay, Chilton & Erwin, is recognized as an extremely effective, committed and tenacious advocate for his clients, and he has over 37 years of experience winning the toughest cases in state and federal courts. One judge, after a hard-fought jury trial, praised his work by saying, “Mr. Chilton, if I ever need an attorney – and I hope I never do – I want you to be my lawyer.”
Mr. Chilton, formerly a partner, senior litigator, and member of the board of directors of a large Oklahoma City law firm, started Holladay, Chilton & Erwin in February, 2000, as a boutique litigation firm dedicated to offering the highest quality legal representation at a lower cost. Holladay, Chilton & Erwin has grown over the years as one of the go-to litigation and real estate transactional firms in the state.
In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Chilton conducts mediations and serves as an arbitrator. He received his mediation training from Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation.
His outstanding work earned him not only the highest possible rating by Martindale-Hubbell, but also an invitation to become a Senior Fellow with the Litigation Counsel of America. This highly exclusive society is composed of less than one-half percent of all lawyers in America.
Mr. Chilton has appeared in state and federal courts nationwide as well as arbitrations. He has successfully represented clients in a myriad of different cases, from successfully defending a $160 million shareholder’s derivative action, recovering multi-million dollar judgments for breach of indemnity agreements and franchise agreements, prosecuting numerous tortious interference and misappropriation of trade secret cases, successfully defending cases brought against individuals on multi-million dollar personal guaranties, covenants not to compete, and covenants not to solicit. As a former pilot, Mr. Chilton has even successfully represented clients in a mid-air airplane collision suit.
Mr. Chilton was recently honored by the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to be appointed by the Judges to be one of the five members of its Admissions and Grievances Committee.
As a father of a premature 1-pound-2-ounce girl born at 25 weeks (now a healthy and beautiful young adult), Chilton is champion of children’s causes. He was one of the Founders of The Oklahoma Family Network, an Oklahoma non-profit supporting families with children in neonatal intensive care units and those with special needs, and promoting family-centered care. He has appeared on local and national television programs to talk about premature birth, and he has served in various top roles with many important children’s health organizations, bringing considerable attention and resources to critically ill children across Oklahoma.
His focus covers:
Contract disputes
Corporate governance and shareholder derivative actions
Oil and gas litigation
Construction litigation
Misappropriation of trade secrets
Franchise litigation
Full range of business torts
Education
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor, 1981
Admissions
State Bar of Oklahoma
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth District
U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
U.S. Supreme Court
Experience
Admissions and Grievances Committee for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Public Employees Relations Board
Honors
Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
2017 Peter Perlman Service Award
Super Lawyer
Best Lawyers of America – Business Litigation
Top 50 Lawyers in Oklahoma
Top AV Preeminent Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
Professional Organizations & Memberships
Oklahoma County Bar Association, board of directors
Leadership Oklahoma City, alumni board of directors
Trial Law Institute
Diversity Law Institute
American Bar Association Dispute Resolution Section
Community Involvement
March of Dimes, Oklahoma ambassador
Oklahoma Family Network, Founder and President
Oklahoma Children's Health Foundation, President, Board of Directors
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma, Board of Directors
Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County
The Children's Center Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, President, Board of Directors
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, pro bono guardian ad litem, representing children subjected to sexual abuse
Reported Cases
Branch v. Farmers Insurance Company, 123 F.Supp.2d 590 (W.D. Okla. 2000)
Dais-Naid Inc. v. Phoenix Resources (In re Texas International Corp.), 974 F.2d 1246 (10th Cir. 1992)
Citizens of National Bank & Trust Co. v. Star Automotive (In re Thriftway Auto Supply), 159 B.R. 948 (W.D. Okla. 1993)
Star Automotive Warehouse v. Spears (In re Thriftway Auto Supply), 156 B.R. 300 (Bankr. W.D. Okla. 1993)
Star Fuel Marts, LLC v. Sam’s East, Inc., 362 F.3d 639 (10th Cir. 2004)
Musket Corp. v. Star Fuel of Oklahoma, 2013 WL 1891295 (W.D. Okla. 2013)
Cont’l Res. Inc. v. Rink Constr., Inc., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 182407
Star Ins. Co. v. Cont’l Res., Inc., 89 F. Supp. 3d 1015 (D. N.D. 2015)