Volume 2 No. 45 | Nov. 9, 2022

Courts

No published opinions this week.

Dispositions Other than by Published Opinions

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma Court Calendar

The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is in session year round, unless otherwise noted. The Court regularly schedules conferences on Mondays and other days as needed.

Notice Of Judicial Vacancy

More

C+M Short Body Images (600 × 150 Px)

The Oklahoma Bar Center will be closed this Friday, Nov. 11, in observance of Veterans Day.

The Oklahoma Bar Association announced its 2023 officers and new Board of Governors members on Friday, Nov. 4, during the OBA’s 118th Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City. 

Ponca City attorney Brian T. Hermanson will serve as the Oklahoma Bar Association’s 2023 president, following a year as president-elect. He will lead the OBA’s 17-member Board of Governors, which meets monthly and governs the association. 

Miles T. Pringle of Oklahoma City will serve as president-elect for 2022, and D. Kenyon Williams Jr. of Tulsa will serve as vice president. Tulsa attorney James R. Hicks, who served as the 2022 OBA president, will remain on the OBA Board of Governors for one year as immediate past president. 

Also elected to the OBA Board of Governors to represent Supreme Court Judicial District Nine is Jana L. Knott of El Reno. Nicholas E. Thurman of Ada was elected by acclamation during the OBA Annual Meeting to represent Supreme Court Judicial District Eight. They will serve three-year terms. Timothy Lee Rogers of Tulsa will also serve a three-year term as a member-at-large. Caroline M. Shaffer Siex of Tulsa will serve a one-year term as OBA Young Lawyers Division chairperson. 

New officers and Board of Governors members will take office Jan. 1, 2023. They will officially be sworn into office Jan. 20, 2023. OBA leadership roles are voluntary positions in which lawyers serve while continuing to practice law. 

The November Oklahoma Bar Journal focuses on the topic of "Municipal Law." OBA member Beth Anne Childs contributed two articles to this month's journal:

Ms. Childs writes: "An important part of any well-run municipality is the local government lawyer. In recent years, I have concentrated my practice on the representation of smaller municipalities. One evening, I had a gentlemen approach me following a board meeting, where the feasibility of hiring a police chief was discussed at length. He told me that hiring a police chief was very important to the town, and while he didn’t have much, he had worked hard for what he had. I have never forgotten what he said and frequently use his remarks as a reminder to work hard to help communities find solutions to their most important and challenging issues."

"Twenty-five percent of OBA members live out of state. That means we have more members living out of state than we do in Tulsa County. Having the ability and desire to provide services to our members, regardless of location, is essential. 

So what does that mean for the average OBA member? It means most OBA services will be sought out first online. There will be fewer in-person meetings. The utilization of almost entirely online services with the OBA means fewer staff contacts and personal relationships. On the other hand, a virtual bar association is 24/7/365, and members can meet all their obligations to continue licensure at any time from anywhere. Staff will still be providing services and producing products. How they are obtained and utilized will be, in the not-too-distant future, very customizable."

For three and a half years, SB had been living in a tent in a homeless encampment along the highway. He suffered from undiagnosed health problems and thought he’d had a stroke. He could not close one eye, and his health worsened while he lived outdoors.

SB had no food, no clothes and no identification, but the problem that bothered him the most was that he had no shoes. SB has very large feet, and every time he searched the donation resources for shoes, there were none in his size.

SB received a ticket and had to go to the Tulsa Municipal Court. To his surprise, he found the help he desperately needed there. SB was paired with a case manager through the Special Services Docket at the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma, an OBF funded-program, and as a result, his life was changed.

Featured CLE

Disaster Planning: It’s Not Just for Hurricanes

By Jim Calloway, OBA Management Assistance Program Director

Tornado Warned Storm in Saskatchewan Canada dramaticWe have certainly seen many weather-related disasters this year. How long has it been since your law firm reviewed its disaster plan? "Disaster Planning: It’s Not Just for Hurricanes" is our new Digital Edge podcast. Our guest, Shawn Holahan, is practice management counsel and loss prevention counsel for the Louisiana State Bar Association. Being from the Big Easy, she knows a thing or two about law firms dealing with hurricanes and other types of weather disasters. Her list of items to prioritize in disaster planning is valuable information, even for those of us for whom a tornado or prairie fire is more likely than a hurricane.

Prefer to read rather than listen? A transcript of the podcast discussion is available. Click here to listen or simply scroll down the page to view.

The Oklahoma Bar Journal is a publication of the Oklahoma Bar Association. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2022 Oklahoma Bar Association. Statements or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. Although advertising copy is reviewed, no endorsement of any product or service offered by any advertisement is intended or implied by publication. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their ads, and the OBA reserves the right to edit or reject any advertising copy for any reason. Legal articles carried in The Oklahoma Bar Journal are selected by the Board of Editors. Information about submissions can be found at www.okbar.org.