Member Appreciation Month Together We Will Change the System
2019 - 2020 TCBA CONTACTS, COMMITTEE & SECTION CHAIRS
www.tulsabar.com
PHONE: 918-584-5243 FAX: 918-592-0208 1446 South Boston, Tulsa, OK 74119-3612 Executive Director Tami Williams tamiw@tulsabar.com Ext. 1002
Front Desk Coordinator
Lawyer Referral, Golf Liaison, General Inquiries
frontdesk@tulsabar.com Ext. 1000
Membership Director CLE, Sections & Committees Accounting Lisa Laughrey Ext. 1001 accounting@tulsabar.com
Tulsa Lawyer Editor - Michael Taubman mptaubman@taubmanlawoffice.com Associate Editor - Milly Dunlap Tulsa Lawyer Submissions - tulsabarnews@yahoo.com
TCBA OFFICERS
President................................................................ James C. Milton Past President......................................................... Hon. Ann Keele President-Elect................................................. K imberly K. Moore Vice President............................................................. Kara Vincent Secretary..................................................................... Natalie Sears Treasurer................................................................. Philip D. Hixon Budget/Internal Operations........................................ Mike Esmond Foundation President .................................................... Jim Hicks Director at Large (1) Large Firm................................. Philip Hixon Director at Large (2) Large Firm.......................... C. Austin Birney Director at Large (1) Medium Firm................................ Kara Pratt Director at Large (2) Medium Firm.................. Jennifer L. Struble Director at Large (1) Small Firm........................... Linda Morrissey Director at Large (2) Small Firm.............................................Open Director at Large (2) Public Sector............... Hon. Ann Keele ABA Delegate............................................................. Molly Aspan OBA Delegate........................................................... Ken Williams Library Trustee (1)......................................................... Julie Evans Library Trustee (2)............................................ Trisha Linn Archer Presiding Judge ..................... Judge William J. Musseman, Jr.C.J., U.S. District Court .................................. Hon. John DowdellC.J., Tulsa Municipal Court............................. Hon. Gerald Hofmeister TU Law School.......................................................... Rachel Baker
FOUNDATION APPOINTMENTS
Law Day................................................... Hon. Martha Rupp Carter Law Day Co-Chair.........................................................Lizzie Riter Community Outreach................................................ Ashley Webb Golf Chair................................................................ Pat Mensching Scholarship Chair.................................................... Faith Orlowski Submission, Grapevine & AdvertisingVisit www.tulsabar.com Subscriptions to Tulsa Lawyer are available for $40.00 a year to those who are not Tulsa County Bar Association members or others who do not currently receive the publication. Contact Lisa Laughrey at llaughrey@tulsabar.com
" TWITTER, TWEET, RETWEET and the Twitter logo are trademarks of Twitter, Inc. or its affiliates. "
FOUNDATION
President...........................................................Christina M.Vaughn Vice President...............................................................Justin Munn Secretary................................................................................... TBD Treasurer/Budget......................................................... Philip Hixon Trustee/Capital Campaign Chair............................... Chad McLain Trustee.......................................................................... Jim Gotwals Trustee.................................................... Hon. Martha Rupp Carter Trustee....................................................................... Ken Williams Trustee............................................................. Zach Smith Trustee........................................................... Honorable Ann Keele President................................................................ Jim Milton TCBA Pres. Elect.................................................. Kimberly Moore
COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS
Animal Law..................................................... ..........Katy Inhofe Bench & Bar.................................................... ........... Vicki Cox Budget & Internal Operations.......................... .......Mike Esmond Children & the Law......................................... ........Stephen Hale Children & the Law Vice Chair....................... .......Natalie Sears CLE ................................................................. ..........Lizzie Riter Diversity Development...................................Hon. April Seibert Diversity Co-chair............................................ .................Ben Fu Fee Arbitration................................................. ...Tamera Childers Law Related Education.........................Hon. Robert LaFortune Lawyer Referral............................................... ......Cathy Hoopert Pro Bono ............................................................... Mac Finlayson Membership Services....................................................Kara Pratt Mentoring......................................................... .....Faith Orlowski Mentoring Co-chair.......................................... ........Randy Lewin Military/Veterans ............................................ Hon. David Guten Nominations & Awards.................................... ....Hon. Ann Keele Professionalism................................................ ...........Rick White Public Relations....................................................Steve Layman Social Media.........................................................Ephraim Alajaji Special Events..Co-Chairs.................Sabah Khalaf / Tim Rogers Tulsa Lawyer.................................................... Michael Taubman
SECTION CHAIRPERSONS
ADR/Mediation..........................................................Melissa Fell Bankruptcy....................................................... ........Paul Thomas Corporate.......................................................... Kevinn Matthews Criminal Law................................................... ........................ Employment Law............................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Energy & Mineral Law.................................... .......Ryan Pittman Family Law...................................................... ...Todd Alexander Health Law . .................................................... ..... Kristen Evans Health Law Vice Chair..................................... Whitney Dockrey Immigration Law Chai..................................... Whitney Webb Juvenile Law.................................................... ..........Lizzie Riter Litigation Co-Chairs...............Robert Mitchener & Robert Winter Municipal Law................................................David Weatherford Paralegals/Legal Assistants.............................. .........Gloria Jones Paralegal /Legal Assistants Vice Chair............ Deborah Gresh Probate/Estate/Elder......................................... ...Catherine Welsh Solo/Small Firm............................................... ......Karen Wilkins Tax ......................................................... .....Ashlee Crouch Technology ...................................................... ............................ Workers Comp................................................. ............................ Young Lawyers................................................ ....Ephraim Alajaji * Section Chairs will be updated as positions are filled. Tulsa Lawyer is a monthly publication of the TCBA. The TCBA does not necessarily share or endorse the opinions expressed in the materials published. The views are those of thoughtful contributors. Similarly, advertising does not imply endorsement by the TCBA of products or services or any statements concerning them.
Jim Milton 2019-2020 TCBA President
"Only a lawyer can..."
A dialogue with Kevinn Matthews By Michael Taubman Thursday, August 20th
Virtual Annual Meeting
TULSA LAWYER
In this Issue
July 2020
2
Things You Should Know
6
Food from the Bar Success
7
CLE News
8
Pause4Paws Helps People and The Pets They Love
9
Lawyers Against Pawverty - Pinots Palette Event
11
Bar Center Progress - Meet Lulu!
12
Quarantine, Lockdown, Social Distancing... The TCBA is Making Moments Count!
13
Stained Glass - Virtual Event July 30th!
16
Membership Renewal & Benefits
18
E-Discovery Productions: Inbound and Outbound By Dr. Gavin W. Manes
21
Oklahoma Access to Justice
22
Bridging between attorneys and people in need
25
TLC - Serving Children Who Need a Voice
Connection Conduit: OKProbonoPortal.org
By Michael P. Taubman
26 In Memoriam 31 Grapevine 32
Classifieds
32
Lawyer Referral & Information Service Info
The Bar Center will remain closed until further notice. The staff is available to members via phone or email during summer business hours of Monday - Thursday, 9am-5pm and Friday, 9am-1pm.
918-584-5243
Tulsa Lawyer 1
BAR CENTER RENOVATION NOTICE: We will be temporarily officing in Suite 100, Tower 1 of the Main Street Towers, 1601 S Main St. We encourage members to continue communicating with staff by phone or email as the office will remain closed to the public and for group meetings.
Resource Page
Visit our COVID-19 information page
Just click the link at the top of our webpage, www.tulsabar.com
A quick resource with links to press releases and notices for Tulsa County Courts, OSCN, Northern District of Oklahoma, OBA, Dept. of Health, State & District Administrative Orders and more. 2 Tulsa Lawyer
The Tulsa legal community & TCBA members are known for their volunteering and giving spirit! Please share how many hours you've volunteered in the last year and your stories about where and how you've volunteered! Send to Tami Williams TCBA Executive Director tamiw@tulsabar.com
“Only a lawyer can…”
A dialogue with Kevinn Matthews leads to worlds of service By Michael P. Taubman We’ve shown the Nation that we’re more than just a song. Our City of Tulsa was thrust into the spotlight this past weekend amidst a confluence of events seemingly certain to end in a physical, destructive conflict. But it didn’t. While the people of Tulsa, Oklahoma (and those coming from afar) protested for and against with barely an incident, Tulsans proved that people can live in the same town, support different candidates and causes, and it doesn’t have to end in violence and destruction. Our City defied and rejected the examples we’d seen in other cities. People marched, chanted, cheered and protested, and Saturday came to an end with dancing in the streets to celebrate Juneteenth. For the first time I can recall (absent a tornado blowing out buildings), the City instituted a curfew in a restricted zone, as they surrounded and closed our courthouse to prepare for events at the BOK Center. Businesses and structures around town, not just downtown, boarded up their shops in anticipation of destruction that might accompany clash of the Juneteenth festival and President Trump’s rally. It didn’t happen. Instead, artists went and painted the plywood to transform it into something beautiful to show visitors and the media coming from out of town for these events. It showed what is most unique about Tulsa – our will to serve our community. The artists who transformed the plywood barricades served each of us by becoming ambassadors to the media and outsiders to showcase the beauty of Tulsa and its people, not fear and hatred of our fellow man. The Juneteenth festival has long been a staple in this community, and it came together in both celebration and protest, with artists working all night before the festival opened to transform Greenwood Avenue with activities and painting “BLACK LIVES MATTER” down the historic road once dubbed Black Wall Street. Tulsa would have been better off boarding up Facebook, as conflicts occurred there with people attacking one another, unfriending, and arguing over whose position was more correct.
When I started writing this article at the beginning of June, marches and protests had begun arising in our Nation and many others around the world in both remembrance and a call to arms for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many, far too many, others whose names tragically became entwined in calls for changes to our systems of governance, justice and policing. Our members and non-members were asking TCBA for action. We’re a voluntary association, and, in that sense, we are each a volunteer called to serve the Tulsa community. But service isn’t always found where you’re most comfortable. TCBA and its committees offer opportunities to serve, and they have for a long time. When someone asks you, how is the TCBA serving, what do you as a member and ambassador of this organization say? Have you submitted anything to TCBA and Tulsa Lawyer to promote opportunities and talk about service? Can you give an elevator speech about how you serve in this organization and the community? Many can, because we see you stepping up to chair and co-chair committees. You step up to organize events. You communicate to the public through your actions the good works of lawyers in this community. We’ve stood together as Lawyers Fighting Hunger to feed those in need. We’ve adopted families, donated clothing and household items, and raised money for disable veterans. We do good things as lawyers, but a fellow lawyer reminded me during the course of several recent discussions that there’s always more for us to do. What do Amos T. Hall, B.C. Franklin and Iron Man have to do with one another? Kevinn Matthews. If you’ve met Kevinn, you remember it, not just for the two n’s in the spelling of his name (as opposed to the State Sen. Kevin Matthews), but you cannot ignore the intense passion he brings. He never seems to slow down, especially when it comes to serving our Tulsa community. Kevinn credits the individuals who have inspired him and mentored him, and he carries that forward by Continued on next page...
his commitment to share with others what has been shared with him. “I think it’s important for people to know how these three Amos T. Hall award recipients, Jim Bender, Craig Rainey, and T. Lane Wilson, have inspired me to always do more towards fulfilling my pro bono commitment. As a lawyer, I try to be like B.C. [Franklin] and Amos T. [Hall] and them.” Like B.C. Franklin, you can find Kevinn Matthews at a small table under a tent serving people in Tulsa outside the Vernon AME church on Greenwood Avenue. Even during this COVID-19 period, Kevinn spends many Saturdays there trying to help an underserved population with their day-to-day legal issues. “Many times, it’s just him and the ladies of the church,” according to Rev. Robert Turner, pastor of Vernon AME, “but Kevinn brings others here too, like Ken Levit.” Masks, gloves
and appropriate social distancing do not stop Kevinn from serving those in need. While not himself a parent, Matthews has spent countless hours helping to mentor young people in Tulsa. Kevinn worked with several other lawyers, ministers and members of the Tulsa Police Department after the Terrence Crutcher shooting on a community service clinic to teach African-American boys to “do ten things to move themselves forward. The one who learns the skills to advance can, the ones who don’t acquire skills will not” said Matthews. Also, Kevinn Matthews serves on the alumni board of his alma mater, Holland Hall. Ever passionate about his school, he credits the people he met there, like coach Charlie Brown, with fueling his passion to serve and be a part of something greater.
Facing Challenges Head On
During the 2020 Covid-19 Crisis, Tulsa Attorney Kevinn L. Matthews conducted legal outreach under a canopy in the Historic Vernon AME Church parking lot. Pictured with him are Naomi & Gay assisting. Photo courtesy Renee Peterson.
Tulsa Attorney B.C. Franklin, seated on the right, set up his law office in a tent after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. On the left is his law partner, I.H. Spears. Photo printed with permission and courtesy of The Tulsa Hisorical Society.
Rev. Turner said he felt the call to preach about 15-16 years old because “I could sense that Jesus Christ wanted more from me.” He continued onto college at Alabama, joining a fraternity, but he could feel the call to preach tugging at him; however, he “didn’t hear the call to lead.” He would go on to start law school, and, while reviewing for Civil Procedure, he would recall the teaching of Isaiah 61, which states, in part: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…
Kevinn Matthews & Jim Bender featured in the Fall 2017 Univeristy of Tulsa College of Law Viewbook (Reprinted with permission Williams )
He continues that drive to serve others today, looking for solutions to problems that are sometimes overlooked. “At the beginning of COVID crisis, we were talking about low-resource areas and needs. One of the things we realized quickly is the limitations of things like telehealth because some of these people do not have the internet access, access to computers, etc., so we had to talk with people about checking your vitals at home to monitor when health problems are happening. Giving people the tools to be self-reliant, to care for themselves, working with the heart association to expand reach.” He carries that same teaching about learning the skills to advance ourselves into discussions about race and social justice in these turbulent times. “Talk more, type less, brevity is an art. That’s smart communications training,” he remarked during one conversation. Through Kevinn, I was introduced to Rev. Robert Turner of Greenwood’s Vernon AME church. Rev. Turner didn’t know about Tulsa and little about the brutal history of Greenwood when he got the text from his Bishop late one evening three years ago about the opportunity to become head pastor at Vernon AME. In fact, he didn’t know from the text that Tulsa was to become his home, where he would become instrumental in the search for mass graves reported to hold the remains of the 300 dead from the massacre.
After working as an intern during law school with a big firm, he went to Kenya on a mission trip, where he learned about himself and that ministry was his calling, not the practice of law. He departed law school upon returning to the U.S. to proceed into his religious studies. There is much more to his story than can be addressed here, but, with Kevinn’s facilitation, we met to discuss issues of racism and serving communities. “Racism breeds fear. Fear breeds racism. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg” asked Rev. Turner, indicating the recirculating nature of most discussions on addressing racism. On reparations, Rev. Turner urged that the fundamental thing is to “agree on principle, then talk policy.” The massacre of Greenwood was indisputably wrong, but, now, what policies do we put in place to address the past and work toward a future. While writing this article, the Zarrow Families Foundation announced on Tuesday, June 16th, that it would devote its resources to the creation of a new Commemoration Fund, in honor of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and devoted to addressing racial inequality in the City of Tulsa. This marks a substantial start to address a deep wound through the heart of Tulsa. The fact that Tulsa hosted both Juneteenth and President Trump in the same weekend without significant incident should be a sign for all of us that we can have civil discourse even in the midst of circumstances that appear, at first glance, to herald another civil war. However, as Kevinn Matthews said during one of our many recent discussions, “there’s still a lot of work to be done in training other people to help. Like Iron Man upgrading Spiderman’s suit, you have to help others learn how to move themselves Continued on next page...
forward.” And the teaching of Kevinn’s lessons in our conversations didn’t stop there… When he was working for Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, before going in-house, Kevinn required law students who wanted to intern to first go spend time getting to know people at Tulsa Day Center. “They needed to get to know the clients they were going to serve, and they needed to understand how they lived,” not just come try to put some law school knowledge to work for course credit. Two of those interns have gone back to their hometowns to start their own legal service clinics, according to Matthews. You’ll read further in this issue of Tulsa Lawyer about yet another person, Katie Dilks with the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation, whom Kevinn Matthews connected me to along the way. If you’re curious about working on cases with the FED docket or serving on a Saturday morning down at Vernon AME church, contact Kevinn Matthews or just show up to work. There’s a quote from Kevinn used in the Dilks story that bears repeating here: “Anyone can donate money. Anyone can adopt a family. Only a lawyer can help a person in a domestic violence situation, or can help a person out of a legal entanglement. Only lawyers can help someone getting unfairly evicted by their landlord to achieve justice and safety for their family” said Matthews. Find your path to serve, even if it makes you uncomfortable at first, and you’ll know you’re in the right place.
The Bar Center will be CLOSED, Friday, July 3rd in observance of
Independence Day.
6 Tulsa Lawyer
The grand total for this year's Food from the Bar is $8,655 in donations, which equals 34,620 meals! Congratulations also to the winning law firm GableGotwals! 2nd Place - Sherwood McCormick & Robert 3rd Place - Ken Ray Underwood Law Office The following are all the firms that participated: Frederic Dorwart Lawyers GableGotwals Hall Estill Mullican & Hart Sherwood McCormick & Robert Additional donations were provided by the TCBA Staff
Thank you so much for all your help in communicating with the Tulsa law community! We will be creating a Food from the Bar wrap-up post for social media soon, and I will be sure that we tag TCBA. We are very happy with the success of this year's campaign! Food from the Bar is designed to provide a Hunger-Free Summer for the 1 in 4 children in our community who experience food insecurity. Summer can be a difficult time for the 85% of Tulsa-area students who rely on free and reduced lunch at school. The Food Bank provides meals to children through Mobile Eatery food trucks and Summer Feeding sites, as well as the distribution of additional nonperishable food, prepared lunches, and fresh produce to partner agencies. The Food Bank cannot do this without your support.
BIG CLE NEWS
The Tulsa County Bar Association is pleased to announce our partnership with Vocalmeet. Together we will introduce a new and innovative way to fulfill your OKMCLE requirements from the comfort of your own home or on-the go! Stay tuned for more information on the launch in July.
Join Caroline for online sessions via TCBA. See pg 24 for details!
Pause4Paws Helps People and The Pets They Love Imagine facing a health crisis and having no one to care for your beloved pet in your absence. Would you seek the help you need? Many individuals impacted by homelessness, mental illness and addiction have faced that very plight with no place to turn. Until now.
Pause4Paws is one of the first programs in the country to provide pet foster care for individuals struggling with mental illness, addiction, or homelessness who need critical medical, mental health, or addiction treatment but do not want to abandon their pets. Pause4Paws collaborates with dozens of social service organizations and medical care providers including Family and Children’s Services, Mental Health Association Oklahoma, Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, Hillcrest Hospital, St. John Hospital, and 12&12.
bottom. But, with no one to care for her dog, Dolly, she didn’t see how she could enter treatment. Fortunately, her treatment center referred her to Pause4Paws. “Because of Pause4Paws, I was able to focus 100 percent on working my sobriety. Without Paws 4 Paws, I don't know what I would have done. Giving Dolly away was simply not an option. I am happy to say that as of today I am coming up on 90 days sober and going strong!"
Pause4Paws is a crucial link in the chain of care Every pet who passes through its program is for pet owners struggling with mental illness, addiction, vaccinated and spayed/neutered, as needed, and it and homelessness. It is a beacon of light for those works with many local animal welfare organizations who suffer and a role model for other communities and veterinarians who provide discounted vet care and who experience the problem of pet care as a barrier to treatment. A healthier society begins with the ability to boarding. provide necessary treatment to individuals who need it. Prior to the advent of Pause4Paws, people suffering Pause4Paws ensures that people with pets are now in from mental illness, addictions or homelessness were that number. unable to access services if they had a pet, and no one to care for it in their absence. One of its recent participants Katie Inhoff, had been given an ultimatum by her family: sobriety or TCBA Animal Law Committee Chair family. After spending Christmas alone in 2019, she hit
8 Tulsa Lawyer
July is Lawyers Against Pawverty Month! Each year the Animal Law Committee chooses and promotes a worthwhile local organization that positively impacts both animals and people. This year we are supporting Pause4Paws. Pause4Paws is a local nonprofit that helps people struggling with mental illness, addiction or homelessness who need urgent medical, mental health or addiction treatment by providing short term foster care for their pets. • Join Lawyers Against Pawverty at Pinot’s Palette on Sunday, July 12, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. • Tickets are $45/person and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Pause4Paws. If you’re ready to get out and paint with friends, join us at Pinot’s Palette on the Riverwalk in Jenks. If you prefer to stay home alone or with a small group, Pinot’s Palette is offering a simulcast you can log in via live stream from home.
Lawyers Against Pawverty at Pinot’s Palette Sunday, July 12, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $45/person Portion of the proceeds will benefit Pause4Paws. Register at www.tulsabar.com
OBA Lawyers Helping Lawyers Virtual Evening Meetings Scheduled Contact Scott B. Goode for more information and to RSVP scott@militarylawok.com 918-992-6203
RSVP via email or phone and you will be given the Zoom meeting ID and PASSWORD.
BAR CENTER IMPROVEMENT PROGRESS
Additional bidding on the interior Bar Center is taking place and that staff is hoping to move to the temporary location in mid July for day to day functions. Many items were donated to the Salvation Army during the cleanout process. Including office supplies and winter clothing that came in during the annual clothing drive but that couldn't be used for business wear.
And as an added bonus Lulu has joined the staff during these stressful times. TCBA employee Lisa Laughrey is Lulu's pet person. Lulu is happy to bring a smile to everyones face and as you can see to the right... she is also busy making sure everyone is working hard. Thanks Lulu!
Send us photos of your office animals! Send to tulsabarnews@yahoo.com with their name & story. Tulsa Lawyer 11
Quarantine, Lockdown, Social Distancing... The TCBA is Making Moments Count! Making Member Appreciation a Priority Tuesday, June 2 Pinot’s Palette Virtual Painting Class Below: Lisa Laughrey
Blood Drive
The Tulsa County Bar partnered with the Oklahoma Blood Institute for a blood drive on June 4th. All members who participated also received an antibody test for Covid-19. Thirty-one members participated and 26 donations were collected. These donations will go on to help as many as 78 patients in area hospitals. Thank you members for always rising to the occasion! Below: Hollie Alexander, Bob Cas, Tyler Gipson and Mallory Sanstra
Right: Ashley Webb 12 Tulsa Lawyer
The Annual Member Appreciation CLE was held virtually on Wednesday, June 10th. Over 130 members participated in 1 or more of the 6 sessions, which equates to 466 credits! What a great day for education!
Members shared their feedback! "Lisa,This whole day was very informative. Thanks to you and the TCBA for this member benefit." G.V. "The presentation was very informative! Thanks!" J.A.B. "Thanks and keep up the very good CLE FREE programs. Great for us old dudes." T.T. "I just wanted to tell you how excellent this was. You did such a good job. I appreciate the work you put into this for all of us and I look forward to more like this. : ) Thank you!" W.W.
"Thank you for this helpful session on Zoom!" L.J. "Lisa, thanks. That was a terrific CLE." R.W "Thanks for the program, all the sessions were good and full of helpful information. I especially liked the quality of the presentations by Randall Snapp on Employment law and the presentation on Trials—very good presenters!" J.N.
Join Us for a Virtual Stained Glass Event!
• Thursday, July 30th
• 6:30pm Register at • 25 members spots available www.tulsabar.com Participants will recieve • Each member can include one instructions on picking up the guest event supplies after registration. This is a continuation of our • Choose your design Member Appreciation Events! • Deadline to register - July 15th Tulsa Lawyer 13
Thursday, August 20, 2020 The TCBA Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet is going virtual! Watch for details in the August issue of Tulsa Lawyer, Facebook and your TCBA emails!
Tulsa Lawyer 15
TULSA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL Renewals will start mid-July! Watch your inbox & the TCBA Facebook page for all the updates!
www.tulsabar.com TCBA Membership Year September 1st, 2020 - August 31, 2021 Please complete your membership renewal by Aug. 31st so committee selections and section planning can begin. Please consider joining the Lawyer Referral and Information Service when you renew your membership. The LRIS is seeking attorneys in all areas of practice. The below categories are especially in need.
• Civil Rights Law • Education • Environmental Law • Immigration & Naturalization • Intellectual Property • Licenses • Medicaid or Medicare • Native Law • Employment Law More information on how the program works can be found on pg. 32 of this issue. 16 Tulsa Lawyer
Exciting things are happening with the Tulsa County Bar Association! Renew or Join and be a part of it all! Please send benefit ideas and suggestions to Lisa Laughrey, Membership Director, at LisaL@ tulsabar.com. Consequently, if you have any connections with local vendors and want to share the love, please pass their information along so we can reach out to them.
Member Benefits Member Favorites:
• Free Continued Learning Education (CLE) classes. Attending 12, live, 1 hour CLE’s, saves you $600 a year! • Exclusive ability to purchase a Courthouse Access Security Badge, with a discounted rate. • Ability to purchase the O.R. Card for O.R. privileges. • Free monthly subscription of Tulsa Lawyer Magazine, the official publication of the Tulsa County Bar Association, a $40 savings. Digital copies included. • Opportunity to increase your client base through TCBA’s Lawyer Referral Program. • Ability to develop strategic relationships through professional networking opportunities. • Opportunities to volunteer in the specific law area of your choice through sections, committees, and community projects with other attorneys. • Discounted tickets to local sporting events including the Thunder, Oilers, Drillers, Roughnecks and Golden Hurricane.
Professional Development:
• Unable to attend the free live CLE trainings? Members receive a discounted rate to watch the video recordings. • Discount to TCBA & TCBF events such as the Judicial Dinner, Law Day, the Annual Meeting Luncheon and more! • Exclusive access to the Tulsa County Courthouse Law Library Lounge. • Free copy of the TCBA Pictorial Directory, upon request. • Ability to join TCBA & TCBF committees for free (20 different service-oriented groups available.) • Ability to join TCBA sections to receive specific law area themed CLE courses (19 different substantive law groups.) • Hone your public speaking skills by teaching a CLE course and receive extra credits.
Brand New Member Benefits:
• Free notary service! All of our TCBA employees are licensed professional notary publics and are pleased to offer notary services for our members free of charge! • Weekly Virtual Yoga with Caroline Meeks- see page 26 for details.
Goods & Services:
• 25% Discount at all of the Fox Cleaners locations for your convenience. Visit www.foxcleaners.com for more information. • OK Dockets is a web service that scans a list of your cases for updates multiple times a day and sends you an email with updates. Use code TCBA10 to receive a 10% member discount at www.okdockets. com. • Opportunity to refinance student loan debt through partnership with Credible. Visit https://www. credible.com/partners/tcba for information. • Discount at several online national retailers including Expedia, Verizon, Best Buy, Office Depot and many others through National Purchasing Partners. Use the following link to see all discounts offered: https://mynpp.com/association/tulsa-county-barassociation. • Preferred room rate at DoubleTree in downtown Tulsa. TCBA preferred rate also includes complimentary shuttle service to/from the Tulsa International Airport, shuttle service around downtown, guestroom internet, garage parking and a warm DoubleTree cookie at check-in. *Must identify yourself as being with the TCBA at the time of reservation to receive discount. • Preferred room rate at Holiday Inn – Tulsa City Center. Visit www.ihg.com. click on “More Options” in the find a hotel box. Enter corporate id “786871924” to receive discount.
E-Discovery Productions: Inbound and Outbound
By Dr. Gavin W. Manes, CEO of Avansic: E-Discovery and Digital Forensics Introduction Anyone involved in e-discovery has been on either side of productions and they can present significant challenges in agreements on format, execution, and quality control. Production falls after the process, review and analyze portion of the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM). They are at the end of the e-discovery process, where documents are lower in volume and higher in relevance. This means that a series of human or humandirected computer decisions have been made in order to narrow a document set. Types of Productions The most common type of production contains load files, images, natives and text files. The .dat file contains all the metadata from the original files, the .opt contains the paths to the image files and the .lst contains the paths to the text. The images can be in many formats, such as tiffs, jpgs, or pdfs. They can be single or multipage files and they can be in color or black & white. Native productions are also an option but should be approached cautiously since documents in their original state are subject to alteration and may be difficult to use in legal proceedings. Native file productions are generally used for file categories that do not image well, cannot be imaged at all like video/audio files, or documents that have different image options such as track changes, notes or hidden data.
compressed archives, etc. Text should be extracted, OCR, or redacted OCR text depending on the document. The worst types of productions may be one or more of the following: • • •
•
A single or several PDFs that contains multiple documents in one file (They are difficult to separate into documents.) No load files, only Bates-stamped PDFs or images (they are missing metadata and parentchild relationships) No native files at all (There was no consideration for poor imaging types such as Excel files with formulas, track changes, corrupt documents or exceptions) Documents without any text (this can be suspicious for many file categories)
There are many other issues that are often seen with productions but the above are difficult to fix even by skilled litigation support professionals.
Time Savers There are a number of practical steps that legal and litigation support professionals can take to achieve a useful and cost-efficient production. Consistency is the most important element of a production; those that come from a variety of sources are bound to introduce inconsistencies and unnecessary collisions which lead to manual time needed to normalize. In short, decide at The ideal type of production for use with modern review the beginning who will create the productions and stick tools are the following: with that group, set production formats and timeframes at the very beginning, and use production templates. • Load file with all available derived metadata Either have a vendor create the productions or your • Multipage PDFs litigation support team, but not both. Having templates • Native files (for certain file categories such as ready for mass exports on the fly will help with lastExcel, PowerPoint, or other specific file types) minute attorney requests for depositions and more. Productions should contain placeholders for select The importance of agreeing on production formats and file categories that indicate further processing needed timeframes is critical. Following the agreed-upon format or errors such as empty files, encrypted documents, will help smooth the e-discovery process and remember 18 Tulsa Lawyer
to keep a copy for yourself. Be sure to ask for metadata that allows for de-duplication like conversation index and a description of the hash methodology. Also ensure you have updated custodian lists for de-duplicated data for each production. Most productions have family intact (parent-child relationships) so if yours does not, make sure everyone knows ahead of time. Production Protocols Establish a production protocol and agreement from the outset. Include clearly defined goals in the protocol such as “we want to collect (these kinds of) devices” and “(this kind) of data.” Allow for necessary changes in technology such as a new collection method – this is particularly important in the fast-paced world of social media. Ensure that you don’t restrict parties from being able to view, share, or transfer data to other parties in order to comply with HIPAA, protective orders, and more. The last step that should not be overlooked is asking someone with e-discovery production experience to review the production.
During the creation of productions, be careful in breaking document families apart. Don’t remove documents before sending to opposing as this creates gaps in numbering and may require re-numbering. Again, be very careful with redactions as information may still reside in the .dat and .txt files that was intended to be removed. Finally, consider the time to create the production. Most modern e-discovery tools will have automated quality control and exception handling for productions, but endorsing many pages in order will still take computer time.
Inbound Productions There are four key factors to consider for inbound productions: how is it helpful, language, how much should be reviewed, and quality control. The first is the most global – did you get what you asked for, did you ask for the right things, how does this information inform on the case, and which documents are key. There may be specific terminology and fields for production and it Be careful of protocols that have undescribed may include foreign languages, which is important for deduplication or near-duplication methods, only searching, and analytics. Deduplication and artificial produce parts of email threads (often called threading), intelligence can be used in figuring out how much or just don’t seem normal for the source data type. should actually be reviewed. For instance, producing pictures from a smartphone in PDFs with no additional metadata is not the way those Quality control of inbound productions should be done devices typically save them. before loading to a review tool. The same processes can be used as outbound quality control, being careful of Outbound Productions text, metadata, and missing natives. Matching fields and Quality control of outbound productions can be broken data is important, including deduplication data, parentin two categories: before production or during the child relationships, and custodian information (including creation of a production. Before production, check deduplicated data paths). Identifying where there is images for issues such as documents that don’t image missing text as well as exceptions and redactions can well, and check redactions carefully, especially if they forestall issues in review and search. In essence, it is wise are in areas that would normally be produced in a .dat to perform the same quality control on inbound production file. For example, email header fields. you would on your own outbound productions. In these protocols we must at a minimum: have parent child relationships for documents, know the custodian(s) of documents, get all derived metadata from the native files, understand the deduplication methods used, and receive any current/updated deduplicated metadata such as paths and custodians.
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Recent e-discovery tools may have options to enhance inbound image and native productions. For images, modern tools convert these to searchable documents; when a user searches for a term it is highlighted in the Bates-stamped image loaded to the review tool. These modern tools may fill in missing metadata for produced native documents. For example, if an Excel is produced with minimal metadata in the .dat file, a modern tool will reprocess that excel and may discover hidden rows, hidden text, embedded documents and formulas. This enhancement example is a good reason to request natives AND images for all documents. Conclusion and Recommendations There are several broad recommendations regarding productions that can help save time and effort. Enhancing inbound productions as much as possible is the first. The second is ensuring they adhere to agreed-upon standards and changes as soon as possible if necessary; asking for overlays or corrected productions as the need arises. Having a plan to handle redactions and clawback agreements is very important as those occur in many cases. Finally, expect a production as good as what you produce; if you adhere to the production standard, that is a solid foundation upon which to build if other parties do not.
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About the Author Dr. Gavin Manes is a nationally recognized expert in e-discovery and digital forensics. He is currently the CEO of Avansic: E-Discovery & Digital Forensics, which provides e-discovery services to law firms, litigation support departments, and corporations across the country. Dr. Manes founded this Tulsa-based company in 2004 after receiving his PhD in Computer Science and serving as a professor at the University of Tulsa. Avansic’s scientific approach to e-discovery and digital forensics stems from Manes’ academic experience; this brings a logical and defensible approach to discovery.
Kara Pratt is now accepting parenting coordinator and guardian ad litem appointments. Please call her at 918-599-7755 or 918-899-0900.
Tulsa Lawyer 21
Connection Conduit: OKProbono.org
Bridging between attorneys and people in need By Michael P. Taubman
As the Tulsa Lawyer team was working on content for this issue back in late May and early June, a notice came to me from our Executive Director, Tami Williams, about this new service being launched, www.okprobono. org (the “Portal”), to aggregate opportunities to serve. The tip of the iceberg metaphor seems appropriate here, as the portal opens a gateway to a whole new world of opportunities that attorneys statewide can browse to find where they can be of service. I took the opportunity to speak with Katie Dilks, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation, on how this came about and its operations. Katie Dilks may be new to Oklahoma, starting life in Iowa before going to Lawrence, KS and then on to Washington, D.C. for fourteen years but she moved to Oklahoma in January 2019 and jumped right into it. Her husband is also an attorney and grew up in Tulsa, and her father-in-law is an attorney as well. “My husband and I both went to Georgetown for law school, where we met and found out we were both KU grads, but we didn’t know each other at KU.” After being in Tulsa a short while, she met Jim Milton, and they discussed the TCBA and its efforts on access to justice issues. “Tulsa has been such a welcoming community to dive-in and get engaged with these issues. The partnership we’ve formed with TCBA has been phenomenal, and it led to making coordinated next steps, working with Tami and meeting Kevinn Matthews through the FED docket. He and I sat down and talked for an hour about his work, 22 Tulsa Lawyer
and he’s been a powerful booster.” She sees her role as a facilitator, not an operator in our lives, with her mission to bring access to justice to the front door. “My job is to make the others around me more successful, look at the landscape, listen, and make the system more functional for everyone.” The Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation began with the focus of being a supporting partner organization to make sure that legal service providers would have the resources to do their job, chiefly the dollars and knowledge to serve the public. This in turn, as Katie Dilks explained, improves resources for pro se litigants to understand the legal system and its processes. The third leg of the stool is the ability increase and encourage pro bono service among lawyers all across the State of Oklahoma. However, the world changed before they really got going. In late March, all plans were scuttled due to COVID, so Katie reached out to other organizations to start networking, making introductions across different organizations. “I started to find out how they were handling the coronavirus situation. They responded that they were overworked and understaffed.” After ruminating on what she heard from various service providers, she distilled it down into the core problem – “they need a way to connect up with others to cover the gap.” Each of these organizations “need more pro bono assistance. They know what to do when they have people, but they didn’t have the time to try to go get them right now.” Out of this chaos and discord would come a plan. Katie and her team researched and determined that they could facilitate a bridge of these gaps using the Chicago Bar Foundation model to create a ‘connector’. “This portal is like the virtual coffee shop bulletin board where everyone can hang up their notice of what they need and for volunteers to come pick the ones they want” said Dilks. They workshopped the concept with the other organizations, and everyone was on-board with it. But, said Katie, there was one glaring question, “who pays to put it all together?”
“George Kaiser Family Foundation and the Oklahoma Bar Foundation stepped up with the money to provide support for getting this off the ground” said Dilks. There will be a need for additional funding going forward to keep it operating in the future. Since this serves all of Oklahoma, it might be a collaboratively funded organization, drawing on the large county bar foundations, law firms and corporate sponsors. Katie hopes that utilization of the Portal by attorneys might grow into a “statewide pro bono challenge, with law firms competing to see whose firm has the most participation, most hours, most service to the community.” When Katie and I discussed how TCBA members can help, she quickly pointed out that “TCBA has been an amazing partner with the help of Jim Milton, Tami Williams, and Mac Finlayson on developing this project.” One of the areas in which TCBA members could be of service is with the FED docket, according to both Kevinn Matthews and Dilks. “When the court assistance project gets back up and running at full speed, we believe this portal could be useful in reaching the public” said Dilks. The Portal offers access for DVIS, Catholic Charities, TLC and others, but Katie isn’t done yet. “We’re trying to get more services involved. If you care about a specific client population, we can look at directing lawyers to that area, whether that’s document review for people, translation services, or going to court.” This Portal serves to build an interconnection between multiple areas of providers who serve populations in need, bridging the landscape of social services and providing a continuum of access to people. Attorneys and Firms, large, small or solo, can search and sort through multiple opportunities. Whether you seek to serve in a limited time commitment, longer term services, or advising businesses struggling due to COVID, lawyers choose what they like doing and do that thing. According to Katie, the Portal serves to answer that question of but where do I start? “All of these organizations we wrap in are the experts, they know how to assign the pro bono cases to attorneys, and they’re giving training to people. It’s a way to get trained into a new area, with people ready to help you, and they’re not going let you fail.” Kevinn Matthews was just one of many people I spoke with who touted praise for Katie’s efforts for the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation. “Anyone can donate money. Anyone can adopt a family. Only a lawyer can help a person in a domestic violence situation, or can help a person out of a legal entanglement. Only lawyers can help someone getting unfairly evicted by their landlord to achieve justice and safety for their family” said Matthews.
The Tulsa County Bar Association & Foundation recently donated $5,000 to City Lights to help combat homelessness. To find out more about the City Lights Foundation of Oklahoma, visit www.citylightsok.org and follow them on Facebook @citylightsok
Tulsa Lawyer 23
TCBA BENEFIT
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unaalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –Thomas Jefferson
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Serving Children Who Need A Voice In 2019, the State of Oklahoma had 8,631 children in foster care. More than 17% of those children were from Tulsa County.1 Tulsa Children in foster care receive immediate legal representation by the Office of the Public Defender, but, when conflicts for the Public Defender arise due to representation of parents in a parallel criminal matter or when siblings disagree on desired outcomes, Tulsa Lawyers for Children (TLC) stands in the gap. TLC ensures effective and zealous representation of abused and neglected children in Tulsa County by recruiting, training, and assisting volunteer attorneys. Meeting with their clients monthly, TLC volunteers listen, advise, and ultimately provide a voice for their client’s interests both inside and outside the courtroom. Children have a right to be heard. They have a right to participate in decisions directly impacting their
lives and a right to a strong advocate who will fight for their wishes. To the extent a child is unable to express an interest, either because the child is preverbal, very young, or for any other reason incapable of judgment and meaningful communication, a TLC volunteer substitutes their judgment for that of the child and presents a position serving the best interests of the child. If you are interested in an opportunity to serve Tulsa children utilizing your hard-earned legal skills, please check out our website, www. tulsalawyersforchildren.org, or email our Executive Director, Timothy Michaels-Johnson, at timothy@ tulsakidlaw.org. Malpractice Insurance may be available for attorneys who do not already have coverage. 1
https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/6363children-0-to-17-in-foster-care?loc=38&loct=5#detail ed/5/5337/true/1729/any/13232
* Open to anyone interested in learning more about juvenile deprived law. Tulsa Lawyer 25
Some Words on the Life of Robbie Emery Burke, Esq. By Taylor Burke
As most of you know, my mom is Robbie Emery Burke. Robbie passed away on May 22, 2020 due to complications from a ruptured aneurysm. Her ashes were interned at First Presbyterian of Tulsa at a small family ceremony on June 19. Conditions permitting, a larger service will take place in August at First Presbyterian, in addition to several other tributes and services. My first memory of my mom will always be as a loving and amazing parent to my siblings, Thomas and Clare (Williams), and me. She was an even better grandparent to my daughter, Helen Moschovidis Burke, and my nephew, Hudson Robert Williams, moving trials and other important lawyerly events for ballet class or just filling in to care for her grandchildren. She was born in Duncan, Oklahoma in 1952. My grandfather, Robert, worked for Haliburton as an engineer and my grandmother, Wayne, worked as a high school teacher. My mom was an excellent student and a writer for the local paper. She went to OU after that, where she was a Chi Omega and again an excellent journalism student. She met my dad, Byron, at OU and they married in 1974. She then went to work in journalism, including writing a children’s comic strip. I was born following my mom’s first year of law school at TU. She would always tell me a story of bets being made on the blackboards as to whether I would come before or after her finals. My mom would read her textbooks to me to get me to sleep.
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My mom did well in law school, graduating in 1982, and was hired at Sneed Lang, where she initially worked in oil and gas law before developing an elder law practice. Prior to law school, she had written a book about the Sneed family and came to know Jim Sneed. The Sneed family became very influential to my family. Mr. Sneed’s partner, Jim Lang, also had a major influence on my mother. She would tell stories of going to Ike’s Chili with him, even years after she had left the firm. She worked very hard all the time. She would have files laid out neatly across her bedroom and would work late into the evening or early in the morning, in between making elaborate meals, carting three children to three different schools, and going into endless baseball games, softball games, and school activities. She was very involved with First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa and the Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery, serving in many different roles over the years. One could write a separate book about that and her self-styled “church lady” role, but this is the Tulsa Lawyer Magazine. (An especially moving tribute to her service to the church can be found on the First Presbyterian Facebook page, dated May 23 by the Rev. James D. Miller.) Eventually she started her own practice in a shared space at 320 S. Boston. Her career really took off after that time and she became a fixture at the Tulsa County courthouse. In 2003, the Tulsa World wrote an article about an award she received from the Tulsa County Bar Association for pro bono work and she came to prominence.
A quote in that article captures so much of her personality: “[i]t’s very touching because I don’t do this for recognition. You hear so much about what lawyers don’t do, but I know so many who do a lot more than what people realize.” In the following years, she quietly grew her practice and it was much larger than many would have realized. She used that practice to support her family in many unique ways, but most importantly, in advancing the education of her children. My mom strongly encouraged me to attend the TU law school. I was very resistant to the idea, having earned scholarships to other schools far away, but in the end, she was right. For a time early in my career, I officed with my mom. Whether I knew it then or not, I learned so much about the practice of law, probate procedure, and how to handle client relationships. More than anything, my mom taught me the value of truth and also the importance of having one’s own book of business (something I stress with new lawyers). I will greatly miss our discussions about law and her wise counsel about what to do in certain situations. The day before she went to the hospital, I had called her to tell her about a small victory I had on a simple case. She listened to me pridefully, barely mentioning that she was about to wrap up the settlement of a much more significant case. In recent years, I had been on some large cases with my mom. She always identified the “big idea” first. At one important hearing, where we had successfully followed our game plan, I became angry at the opposing counsel for spouting a silly argument to the Court near the end. My mom kicked the back of my heel and whispered to me, “You have won. Sit down now so you don’t lose it.” And once again, she was right. So many of those who have reached out have praised her professionalism, her decency, and kindness. I would also add to that list the perseverance and strength my mom always showed for her clients and especially her family. Because of the nature of what she did, some of the records of her acts of heroism are not publicly available—but suffice it to say, she often represented people in some highly difficult situations and did so with more grace than most. Many of you who have reached out to my family these past weeks have said similar things. My family is thankful for your love and support during this time. In lieu of flowers, my family asks that you make appropriate donations to the children’s ministry at First Presbyterian Church and/or Tulsa Lawyers for Children. As part of this celebration, I have asked some family members, friends, and professional colleagues to write a few words about my mom. Thoughts of Robbie bring a smile to my face. What impressed me most about Robbie was her love of family, dedication to her clients welfare as illustrated by her chosen field of practice, and a commitment to those members of her community who have no voice, children. And then there was her positive attitude, her cheerfulness, and her smile.
My late wife, Phyllis, who was Robbie’s law school classmate, would agree that our lives were enriched by having Robbie as a friend. Robbie always struck me as the person Will Rogers was said to have been. “He never met a person he did not like.” ~ Martin A. Frey, Professor Emeritus, The University of Tulsa College of Law The bar has truly lost a wonderful lawyer. Robbie Burke was a very competent, ethical lawyer and a genuinely decent person. Throughout my time on the bench, I appointed Robbie to various roles, such as special administrator or personal representative in probate cases; guardian for vulnerable adults; and guardian ad litem for children and vulnerable adults in probate, guardianship, domestics relations, and civil cases. Robbie was a gifted lawyer who appreciated the uncertainty and sometimes fear that families face when having to be involved in the court system, and her kindness showed in her work. We will miss her. Hon. Theresa Dreiling, Tulsa County Having worked in the probate and guardianship arena for a long time, I got used to seeing Robbie Burke all the time. I can’t remember the first case we had together, but we have had many cases together. Sometimes we were aligned. Sometimes we were on opposite sides. Depending on the case, she was either a worthy adversary or a good and trusted ally. But she was always a friend. Robbie and I would have conversations about Title 30, the Guardianship Code. I guess we might have been some of the few people who enjoyed talking about its intricacies. We always intended to write something together, and I am sad that we never did. I always knew that Robbie had a good heart, and that she most likely had a strong faith. I never really knew, until she passed, that her favorite job was that of a church lady. I love that. We should all aspire to have similar goals – faith first, family a close second, and then a great passion for work. Robbie embodies these priorities as well as anyone I’ve known. I miss her. ~ Jim Milton, Shareholder and Director, Hall Estill Robbie came into my life fifteen years ago, when, during my sophomore year of college, I got the idea that I that might want to go to law school. My sister offered to reach out to her then-boyfriend (now husband’s) mother to see if she would have lunch with me to give me some advice. Instead, Robbie hired me. I was a gal Friday for her—doing secretarial work, handling court filings, running errands. I sat at a little antique desk in her office and peppered her with questions. Robbie encouraged my curiosity and took me to hearings, client meetings, and will signings. She always introduced me to the judges, clients, and other lawyers. She made me feel that I was valuable and had an important contribution to make. She became a great mentor and dear friend. Robbie approached the practice of law with Tulsa Lawyer 27
compassion, generosity, and an ability to always do the next right thing. She treated everyone with respect and kindness. She remembered names. She never talked down to anyone. She always rose above the fray. And she approached life and her work with a sense of humor and fun. I recall one day she was having a series of frustrating phone calls and complained, “What’s wrong with everyone today?” I teased her, “Robbie, you’re the common denominator in all these conversations.” She burst out laughing and would joke for years to come about being the “common denominator.” Years later, after attending law school and entering the practice of law myself, I had an opportunity to work with Robbie as co-counsel on a case. As ever, she was steady, wise, and encouraging. I was proud to stand beside her in court. During that case, she sent me an email telling me she wanted to be like me when she grew up. I replied that I wanted to be like her when I grew up. I am trying every day. Robbie was a trailblazer, attending law school when few women did and graduating at the top of her class, all while raising her first child. She told me she read Taylor, her oldest son, her law textbooks as a baby. He carries on her beautiful legacy as a lawyer today. She had her younger son, Thomas, and daughter, Clare, while practicing law and before “maternity leave” existed. She nevertheless balanced a demanding and successful career with her love of family, her commitment to First Presbyterian Church, and her many charitable pursuits, including Tulsa Lawyers for Children. There wasn’t much that Robbie couldn’t do—she was a true inspiration. She was beloved by many and will be dearly missed. Robbie, thank you for believing in me and giving me my first opportunity. I will do my best to make you proud. ~ Barbara M. Moschovidis, Shareholder, GableGotwals I just lost one of my best friends and one of my few heros. . . . [We] were the two unlikeliest of friends but great friends none the less . . . She was one of the best persons and most competent and caring attorneys I ever knew. ~ J. Vince Hightower, formerly of Sneed Lang and other firms and now retired, living in Mexico I have known Robbie Burke as an attorney for several decades. I actually never had any court cases opposite her but dialogued with her for years on various legal and life issues. I can say without hesitation that Robbie, both as a lawyer and person, was competent, compassionate, concerned, and very caring. Her passing will leave a very big hole in the elder and estate planning bar not only due to her professionalism, but her decency, kindness, and peaceful and steady concern and advocacy for others. Only those who knew her well realize the loss the bar and community has suffered. ~ Curtis J. Shacklett, Barber & Bartz
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In 2003 when I was new to the Tulsa area having moved up from Texas, Robbie quickly took me under her wing and mentored me. I was thinking of opening my own practice at the time, as my time at the TU legal clinic was coming to an end. Robbie sat down with me several evenings to discuss how to accomplish the transition to private practice. Her one rule she stressed to me was to always answer phone calls and return client calls the same day. As my practice took off, Robbie was always there to bounce ideas and problems arising in cases off of. We talked several times a week about guardianship, probate, and estate planning issues. She was a joy to work with, and one of the noblest attorneys in the profession. She understood that even in the fiercest battle in the courthouse, it was never personal. Even when the facts were completely on her side and she was handily winning, she would be gracious and encouraging. She never charged enough for her expertise level, and she would jump in to help with an estate plan or guardianship without charge. She will be missed because of this spirit of encouragement, loyalty, and graciousness that are true virtues in the practice of law. ~ Catherine Z. Welsh, Welsh & McGough Doing oil and gas title work with Robbie was always an adventure. In the days before Excel spreadsheets, electronic photos of title documents, and cell phones, the car would leave Tulsa before 6:00 a.m. in order to arrive when the County Clerk’s Office opened its doors. Robbie left no doubt that we were going to start and complete a review of all relevant title documents for an entire section of land in a single day. Those of us working with her quickly learned not to question or suggest improvements to Robbie’s checklist. From chaining transactions from statehood, to pulling large title binders to examine each deed, Robbie was relentless in accurately recording and chaining title. Her attention to detail was incredible. She had a knack of ferreting out title discrepancies. She checked probate records, tax rolls, lien records and other courthouse sources that few title attorneys even thought about. More often than not the County Clerk’s staff were waiting impatiently for Robbie to conclude her research by 5:00 p.m. She routinely put in 14 to 16 hour days. Back in the office, she would calculate the fractional shares that each owner was entitled to and would produce a well written and succinct title opinion. Her knowledge of the Oklahoma Title Standards and accuracy were legendary and highly regarded. No matter where Robbie was, she increased the professional standards of her fellow attorneys. She left a high standard of excellence. Those of us who had the privileged of working with her were enriched by the experience. ~ Stephen R. McNamara, Shareholder, Hall Estill and formerly at Sneed Lang
In Memoriam Sam P. Daniel
By Laurie Daniel Rowe
Father’s Day has come and gone this year, and it was the first without my dad. As I write this, I am so appreciative that I have the opportunity to give him one last gift, and article memorializing his life and the things he loved. As anyone who knew my father would understand, where do you begin? Education, service to his country, family, world travels, 60-year law career, hunting and fishing? All were things he loved dearly. Sam rose every morning, excited for what the day would bring, what he could learn, teach, and how he could better himself and his colleagues. It was a second-grade friendship with the son of Federal Judge A.P. Murrah that decided his future in the law. He practiced law for 60 years, 50 years with the same firm, a master trial lawyer in the field of family law, as well as civil and business litigation. He was always very proud of his admission to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. Proud of his many accomplishments while practicing the law he so loved and respected, one OK Supreme Court decision was particularly spectacular. Sam was co-counsel for the plaintiff/appellee in the three-month trial (1999) in Cities Service Co. v. Gulf Oil Corp., in which a judgment by the trial court for the plaintiff/appellee awarded over $742 million and it was affirmed by the OK Supreme Court. This is reportedly the largest money judgment ever awarded in the State of Oklahoma. A s i d e from the law, Sam supported many organizations with a mission dedicated to wildlife conservation. In 2014 he received the NatureWorks Wildlife Stewardship Award and the 24th
bronze monument was erected in his honor, titled “Coyote Pups Singing Lessons”. Over his lifetime he has partnered with and served on the boards of many notable organizations including The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, National Turkey Federation, National Audubon Society, Trout Unlimited, The George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Center Foundation, Delta Waterfowl and National Wildlife Federation, to name a few. His partnership with the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s “Partners in Wildlife” program created the opportunity to build a perpetual wetland on property near Grand Lake. My dad also had the “collection of a lifetime” as he called it. He did not set out to collect all species of waterfowl in North America, but he did, except one, the illusive King Eider. He published The Last Duck in 2017, a pictorial narrative of his collection. And today, that collection is immortalized at Woolaroc in a special permanent exhibit for all to enjoy. A single Egyptian goose in the collection clearly is not a North American species, but he could not help but add just one to mark his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go on a safari in Botswana. When not preparing for a trial, teaching young lawyers, hunting, playing golf, or spending time with his family, he was on a river with a rod in his hand. He was an avid sportsman. He fished in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, and many other destinations with passion and a love for the sport. A man who walked through life with a smile on his face, his head held high, and never afraid to speak his mind, he will be remembered fondly and missed in our daily lives. Whether that be in a court room, in a duck blind, on a river in Montana, or in Normandy studying history, our memories remain. As my dad always said, “to keep on going, you’ve got to keep on going”. In loving memory, Laurie Daniel Rowe
Editor’s Note: This editor originally discussed with the author a personal statement of remembrance to be included last August following Sam Daniel’s passing, but our publication deadline prevented its inclusion at that time.
Grapevine News Conner & Winters LLP, a premier full-service law firm in the region, today announced Rich Marshall joined the firm as a partner in the banking and finance and real estate areas. Marshall relocated his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma after spending 20 years representing financial institutions, developers and investors in Dallas. “We are thrilled to bring on Rich as he will add incredible value and expertise to our already talented team. Rich will continue to serve his Texas clients and assist Conner & Winters with growing our Dallas office while deepening our real estate bench strength in Tulsa,” said Scott Hathaway, president of Conner & Winters. “While it may seem unconventional to bring on a new partner during these uncertain times, we are committed to the future.” Prior to joining Conner & Winters, Marshall had a solo practice. He has represented institutions in asset based commercial loan transactions across the United States and principal real estate constituents in the Dallas metro. Marshall also holds a commercial real estate licenses in Oklahoma and Texas. Marshall earned a J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in English. McAfee & Taft received top marks in the 2020 edition of the Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business and was the only Oklahoma law firm to receive the top Band 1 ranking in all major categories of legal practice — corporate/commercial (including healthcare), energy and natural resources (including environmental), intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, real estate, and tax law. Additionally, for the second consecutive year, McAfee & Taft was the sole honoree to earn a Band 1 ranking in the categories of Labor & Employment and Litigation. In addition to group honors, 32 McAfee & Taft attorneys were singled out for individual honors. Honorees in the “Corporate/Commercial” category were W. Chris Coleman, Bruce Crum and Joshua D. Smith. For “Corporate/Commercial: Healthcare,” honorees were Elizabeth L. Dalton, Michael E. Joseph and Patricia A. Rogers. Timothy J. Bomhoff was top-ranked in “Energy & Natural Resources,” and Robert J. Joyce and Garry L. Keele, II were honored in “Natural Resources: Environment.”
Honorees for “Intellectual Property” were Rachel Blue, Clifford C. Dougherty, III, John A. Kenney, Michael J. LaBrie and Anthony Rahhal. “Labor & Employment” honorees were Courtney Bru, Michael F. Lauderdale, Brandon P. Long, Charles S. Plumb, Tony G. Puckett, W. Kirk Turner and Nathan L. Whatley. Honorees for “Litigation: General Commercial” were Mary Quinn Cooper, John N. Hermes and Drew Neville. Ranked for “Real Estate” were Robert L. Garbrecht, Lloyd T. Hardin, Jr., Frank Hill, Myrna Latham, Joe C. Lewallen, Jr., Cole Marshall and Richard A. Riggs. T. Michael Blake was honored in the corporate area of “Tax.” Researchers with London-based Chambers & Partners Publishing, publishers of the 2020 guide, conducted in-depth interviews of attorneys and clients throughout the United States to identify and rank the nation’s leading business lawyers. The final rankings are based on such factors as technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness/ astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the client.
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Classified Ads Prospective Legal, PLLC seeks an experienced lawyer. This would be a position as a partner, of counsel, or possibly an office sharing arrangement. This will be a great opportunity for an attorney looking to expand their practice and wishes to work at a firm where they will have meaningful input in its governance. If interested, please send your resume and a writing sample to sdavis@prospectivelegal.com.
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