Professor Coulson clerked for Chief Judge A. P. Murrah of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. He has served on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, by appointment of President James E. Carter; he chaired the Oklahoma Governor's Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, by appointment of then Governor David L. Boren; was special master for Oklahoma's federal courts in the remedies portion of a large employment discrimination pattern and practice action; and was a judge for the Temporary Division of the Oklahoma Court of Appeals. He is active as a commercial arbitrator. He was in private practice in commercial law and bankruptcy reorganization. He is a member of the American Society of Legal History, the Selden Society, a director of the American Society of Comparative Law, and an editor of The American Journal of Comparative Law. Professor Coulson received his B.A. and J.D. from Oklahoma City University.