Daniel J. Boudreau

Daniel J. Boudreau (born 1947), a native of Massachusetts and a graduate of the University of Tulsa College of Law, is an Oklahoma attorney who was a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court from 1999 to 2004. After retiring from the Supreme Court, he is now in private practice as a specialist in Alternative Dispute Resolution, which he has also taught at the University of Tulsa College of Law.

Early life and educational background Daniel J. Boudreau was born in Natick, Massachusetts on May 10, 1947. He received his higher education at Boston College (B.A., 1969); Rutgers University (M.S.W., 1972) and University of Tulsa College of Law (J.D., 1976). He was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1976.

Judicial experience

Lower courts In 1990, Governor George Nigh appointed Boudreau to the Tulsa County District Court, where he spent about two years.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating appointed Boudreau as a justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court on October 12, 1999, replacing retiring Justice Robert Simms, who had been the previous chief justice. On November 2, 1999, Boudreau was sworn in as Chief Justice by Justice Hardy Summers. The new Chief Justice's first official act was to swear in Jerry Goodman, Boudreau's replacement as vice chief justice on the Court of Civil Appeals.

As a Supreme Court Justice, Boudreau participated on the Appellate Division of the Oklahoma Court of the Judiciary, a separate constitutional court whose role was to address judicial misconduct issues.

Dispute resolution consulting In 2005, Boudreau joined Dispute Resolution Consultants (DRC), where he remains at present. He had been specifically interested in this area before retiring from the court, having earned a Mediator's certificate in 2003 and an Alternative Dispute Resolution Certificate in 2004 from the National Judicial College.

On October 5, 2017, the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) Alternative Dispute Resolution Section presented Boudreau with its first Peter Bradford Award for Distinguished Achievement in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Professional affiliations National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN); Oklahoma Supreme Court Standing Committee to Monitor, Update and Revise the Oklahoma Civil Jury Instructions; American Inns of Court - Hudson-Hall Wheaton Chapter; Alumni Association of the University of Tulsa College of Law; Legal Services of Eastern Oklahoma.

In 1973, the couple moved to Tulsa, where Daniel enrolled in the University of Tulsa Law School. They have lived in Oklahoma ever since and have two children, one boy and one girl, who were born in Oklahoma. The Boudreau family kept their home in Tulsa even while Daniel worked at jobs in Oklahoma City and commuted to Tulsa every weekend. Faith looked after the children and worked as a school counselor during the week. In 2003, she was diagnosed with Stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Having this illness led her to become a co-founder of "...Celebrating the Art of Healing, an annual educational symposium for cancer survivors, their caregivers, adult family members and others,”