When Guy A. Fortney (J.D. ’96) stepped to the lectern as keynote speaker at The University of Tulsa’s College of Law Alumni Awards Luncheon during the Oklahoma Bar Association Annual Meeting, he addressed three overlapping communities he knows well: his classmates, his colleagues and the next generation of UTulsa lawyers.
“As a graduate of UTulsa Law, a practicing attorney for three decades and now a faculty member, my goal was to reassure alumni that today’s students are just as driven and intelligent as those who came before,” Fortney said after the event. “Our law school remains a source of pride, and we should continue to embrace that pride.”
A former Outstanding Junior Alumnus, Fortney now serves as an adjunct professor and distinguished practitioner in residence.
A career built in the courtroom
A general civil trial attorney with Brewster & De Angelis, Fortney focuses on civil rights, catastrophic injury and appellate matters in state and federal courts. He has helped secure landmark decisions and multimillion-dollar awards in medical malpractice, personal injury, toxic tort and complex commercial litigation. Since 2017, he has been continuously recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for his work in civil rights and personal injury litigation and is admitted to practice before multiple federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yet the victories Fortney values most are often the private ones. “The things you don’t hear about are the things I think I’m proudest of,” he said. “Confidential settlements for clients and families who have suffered catastrophic loss. I know the settlement can make a difference in the lives of the survivors – the parents, the children – and hopefully allow them to get up off the floor and continue with their lives.”
Distinguished Practitioner in Residence
Fortney now brings his trial experience into the classroom. He received UTulsa Law’s Outstanding Adjunct and Visiting Professor Award in 2025 and maintains open-door office hours to encourage informal mentorship.
“The students. The energy. The curiosity. The thirst to know more,” he responded when asked what he enjoys most about teaching. “You never really know a subject until you try to explain it to someone who doesn’t know it. The process clarifies the thinking and the message.”
Returning to his alma mater nearly 30 years after graduation has also become a family milestone: His daughter is now a UTulsa Law student. “To share not only my law school experiences with her but also share in hers is a gift that I never thought I would get,” he said.
From what he calls the “verbal warfare” of the courtroom to the back-and-forth of classroom discussion, Fortney sees a clear through line: helping soon-to-be lawyers find their voice in a profession designed to test it. As a distinguished practitioner in residence, he is doing that work in the very place his own advocacy began.