After more than four decades at The University of Tulsa’s College of Law, Professor Charles W. Adams delivered his final lecture to a standing-room only audience, reflecting on the evolution of civil procedure and a career that has helped shape the practice of law across Oklahoma.
Adams, who joined the faculty in 1979, has taught thousands of students and influenced more than 6,000 lawyers in the state. His work has extended beyond the classroom, contributing directly to the development of Oklahoma’s legal framework.
Throughout his career, Adams played a central role in modernizing civil procedure in Oklahoma. He contributed to reforms of the state’s pleading code, helped draft rules governing service of process and worked for decades on the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Civil Procedure Committee, where he led efforts to update statutes and improve the efficiency of the legal system.
Beyond Oklahoma, Adams contributed to national legal scholarship through the American Law Institute, where he was elected in 1987 and later became a life member. The institute’s work in restating and refining the law is widely relied upon by courts and reflects the same emphasis on clarity and reform that defined his career.
At the state level, his work extended to the Oklahoma Uniform Jury Instructions Committees, where he served as reporter and helped draft and refine standardized jury instructions used across the state, work that reduced ambiguity in trials and improved consistency in court decisions.
His final lecture, “A Reflection on the Changes in Oklahoma Civil Procedure Over the Last 50 Years,” traced both the transformation of legal systems and his own unexpected path into academia.
Originally trained in physics, Adams earned graduate degrees before turning to law at the University of California at Berkeley. After beginning his career in private practice, he accepted what was initially intended to be a one-year teaching position in Tulsa.
That move became permanent.
“It was kind of a serendipitous thing,” Adams said during the lecture, describing how he arrived at UTulsa Law. “It’s been my whole life, really. I’ve been very lucky to have had the opportunity to come to UTulsa and get to know so many great people.”
In his remarks, Adams emphasized two principles that guided his career: the importance of clarity in legal doctrine and the need for continuous law reform – ideas shaped early in his academic training and carried through decades of teaching and scholarship.
“He’s left his fingerprints on the rule of law in Oklahoma and in the lives of countless attorneys, clients and families,” said Interim Law Dean Marc Roark. “He’s literally shaped the state of civil procedure.”
As he retires, Adams leaves behind a legacy not only in the classroom but in the structure of the law itself, one that will continue to shape legal practice in Oklahoma for years to come.