cover story: from the barracks to world trade center hero
DESCRIPTION
Oklahoma City University School of Law Alumni Magazine Spring 2012TRANSCRIPT
Volume 9, Issue 1 I Spring 2012 I law.okcu.edu
THE MAGAZINE OF OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
On 9/11, the heroics of one OCU LAW alumnus saved nearly 2,700 lives. A decade later, one
professor reflects on Rick Rescorla’s life of bravery.
FEATURES
2 From the President By Robert Henry
17 The Lawyer’s Guide to Using and Citing Wikipedia By Lee F. Peoples, Professor of Law and Law Library Director
23 Know Better & Do Better: Lessons from the Oklahoma Innocence Project By Jill Swank ‘11
25 When Worlds Collide By Phil Bacharach
27 Cover Story: From the Barracks to World Trade Center Hero By Michael Gibson, Professor of Law
41 All in the Family By Brook Arbeitman
42 Why I Give: Hiram Sasser ’02 By Phil Bacharach
DEPARTMENTS
4 Legal Briefs
11 Legal Action
33 Class Action
48 Amicus Universitas
DEANValerie K. Couch
EXECUTIVE EDITORBrook Arbeitman
CONTRIBUTING EDITORSBernard JonesJosh Snavely
DESIGNERWhitney Porch-Van Heuvelen
CONTRIBUTORSPhil BacharachMichael GibsonRobert HenryLee F. PeoplesCasey Ross-PetherickJill Swank
PHOTOGRAPHERSBrook ArbeitmanDawn GroomsNathan GunterAnn Sherman
MAIN NUMBER405.208.5337
MARKETING & [email protected]
PROFESSIONAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT [email protected]
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
OCU LAW Magazine is a copyrighted publication of Oklahoma City University School of Law, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. All communication should be mailed to Oklahoma City University School of Law, ATTN: OCU LAW Magazine, 2501 N. Blackwelder, Oklahoma City, OK 73106-1493.
Oklahoma City University School of Law provides equality of opportunity in legal educa-tion for all persons including faculty and employees with respect to hiring, continuation, promotion and tenure, applicants for admission, enrolled students and graduates, with-out discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, sexual orientation or veteran status.
The School of Law provides its students and graduates with equal opportunity to obtain employment without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap or disability, sexual orientation or veteran status. In furtherance of this policy, the law school communicates to each employer to whom it furnishes assistance and facilities for interviewing and other placement functions the school’s firm expectation that the employer will observe the principle of equal opportunity.
The General Counsel, located in Room 105 of the Administration Building, telephone (405) 208-5857, coordinates the University’s compliance with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilita-tion Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. To view OCU LAW’s complete Equal Opportunity Statement, visit http://law.okcu.edu/index.php/blog/mission-statement-and-policies/.
Spring is a season of new beginnings, promise, and growth, and at OCU LAW that was precisely our focus this past spring. As the redbuds bloomed, they heralded an exciting time. In April, we proudly welcomed the 12th dean of our law school and the first woman to hold the position, Federal Magistrate Judge Valerie Couch.
I am delighted to hand the gavel to someone I know will be an excep-tional dean. Judge Couch has been involved with our law school as an adjunct faculty member for a decade, and her rapport with students and faculty is sterling, as is her reputation within the legal community.
We conducted a yearlong, nationwide search led by Oklahoma City University School of Law faculty member Paula Dalley. The commit-tee considered many qualified applicants, and they were particularly impressed with Judge Couch’s enthusiasm, leadership, and promi-nence within the legal community. Those were key factors in my decision to bring Judge Couch to the helm.
I know Judge Couch is as excited as I am about the future of OCU LAW. We are poised for growth as our newest clinic — the Oklahoma Innocence Project — prepares students for the practice of law and serves to free innocent people from prison who were erroneously convicted of a crime. We renovated a vacant building on campus to house the project through a gen-erous donation of an alumna and her husband. We have raised more than $1.6 million to house and fund the project for the next five years. Professor Tiffany Murphy has joined our fac-ulty to lead the project. She came to OCU from the University of Missouri at Kansas City where she directed a similar clinic. The months, and years, ahead are full of promise at OCU LAW. I hope you will connect with us and take part in the excitement. •
President Robert HenryOklahoma City University
From the PresidentOCU LAW: Poised for the Future, Couched in Excellence
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DID YOU KNOW
OCU LAW Incoming ClassFall 2011
Oklahoma City is ranked in the top 20
“Strongest Metros” according to the
Brookings Institute?
OCU’s Meinders School of Business started
a Master of Science program in energy
legal studies?
87% of all OCU LAW students take their
final exams on their laptops?
201
16Have advanced
degrees 12SERVEIN THE MILITARY
11ARE OCU LAW LEGACIES
84Different
Undergraduate InstitutionsAttended
# of countriesrepresented bythis class,including the U.S.A.
States Represented inthe Fall 2011 Incoming Class
The July 2011 Oklahoma bar exam scores are a testament to the qual-ity education and bar preparation efforts offered at Oklahoma City University School of Law. At 89 percent, the school boasted the high-est passage rate for first-time examinees in the state.
Steven Foster, director of academic achievement at OCU LAW, attrib-uted the success of the first-time test takers to three factors: dedicated faculty, quality students and a focus on bar exam preparation.
“We have really good faculty who put time into training students,” Fos-ter said. “The students themselves were great. We had a really good class that was motivated and worked hard. We also spent time during the last semester and summer training students for the bar exam.”
Statewide, 87 percent of first-time bar examinees passed the test.
The most recent bar exam results are a continuation of recent successes for OCU LAW students. In July 2010, 90 percent of OCU’s first-time test tak-ers passed the bar, meeting the state average for that test. With 86 percent of first-time examinees passing in February of 2011, OCU LAW recorded its highest passage rate on the winter exam in three years.
Bar exam preparation is stressed in the last semester of law school and during the summer, Foster said. Friday or Saturday bar prepa-ration classes include six to eight practice exams and five or six substantive lectures.
Students are given hour-by-hour study schedules and mentoring. OCU LAW even offers lunch to its students during the two days of the exam. “That’s one less thing they have to worry about,” Foster said.
Still, he gives most of the credit back to the caliber of student OCU LAW has attracted in recent years.
“The admissions office has done a great job over the last three or four years admitting high quality students,” Foster said. “Student standards have increased each year during Dean of Admissions Bernard Jones’ tenure at OCU, and I expect our success to continue into the future.” •
LEGAL BRIEFS:OCU LAW at a Glance
OCU Tops Statein First-Time Bar
Passage Rates
May 2011 graduate, Jana Knott, takes the Oath of Attorney at the Oklahoma Bar Admission ceremony on September 22, 2011.
They attend class, conduct research, learn the law, live and play here. But they are not from here or even from the United States. In fact, they trav-eled more than 7,000 miles to be part of the OCU LAW community.
They are professors of law and they are from China. At one point in 2011, OCU LAW hosted three visiting Chinese scholars. Two com-pleted their scholarship in early 2012 and returned to China. The third, Ms. LIU Ping arrived in November and will be with us this year.
“The visiting scholars from overseas benefit from our law school’s scholarship and its community, which also helps them understand the United States and its people better,” said Ming Gu, director of OCU LAW’s International Program. “Their scholarship at OCU LAW also enriches the academic culture here and helps our students, faculty and staff understand the scholars’ home countries better.”
Since 2009, OCU LAW has hosted eight visiting scholars from overseas – seven from China and one from Egypt. The Chinese scholars are fully funded by the China Scholarship Council under the Ministry of Educa-tion for one academic year. After completing their scholarship in the U.S., the professors go back to their institution of higher education to write articles or books on their area of focus. Many are even promoted based on their participation in this program. •
A Long WayFrom Home
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Long before they graduate or even take the bar, OCU LAW students are getting hands-on practical experience in the legal profession.
“OCU LAW offers unique opportunities for students to learn about the practice of law and to get real-world legal experience through our three clinics, as well as through our externship and pro bono programs,” said Professor Laurie Jones.
The methods and tools utilized in the OCU LAW clinical programs are making their way to Russia, courtesy of a visit stateside by a delegation of six Russians. In September, one dean, one judge and four professors traveled to Oklahoma City from Russia to learn about clinical legal edu-cation. They spent two days at OCU LAW interacting with students, faculty and administrators involved in the three clinical programs – the Immigration Law Clinic, Jodi Marquette American Indian Wills Clinic and the Oklahoma Innocence Project – as well as other experiential learning programs.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Oklahoma City University School of Law to showcase our exceptional experiential learning programs,” said Jones.
Open World, a program funded by the Library of Congress, sponsored the Russians’ visit. •
Hands-On Learningwith a Global Reach
LEGAL BRIEFS:
A member of the Russian delegation listens to a presentation whilevisiting OCU LAW.
It is rare for any law review to publish articles from students enrolled in other law schools. But OCU LAW student authors are breaking that barrier. From Harvard to UCLA, from transportation to public inter-est, OCU LAW authors are having their work published in journals across the country.
AUTHOR: Blake Lawrence ‘11TITLE: The First Amendment in the Multicultural Climate of Colleges and Universities: A Story Ending with Christian Legal Society v. MartinezJOURNAL: Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly(Lawrence also received offers to publish this piece from Rutgers Law Record and the Faulkner Law Review)
– and –TITLE: To Infinity and Beyond: FCC Enforcement Limiting Broadcast Indecency from George Carlin to Cher and Into the Digital AgeJOURNAL: UCLA Entertainment Law Review
AUTHOR: Tiffany Peterson, 3LTITLE: Unsolicited Internal Complaints: The False Sense of Protection Against Anti-Retaliation Provided by Section 510 of ERISAJOURNAL: The American University Labor & Employment Law Forum
AUTHOR: Isai Molina, 3LTITLE: Boxing: One Last Cry for National UniformityJOURNAL: Arizona State University Sports & Entertainment Law Journal
AUTHOR: Brett M. Stingley, 3LTITLE: A Statistical Criticism of Jury Selection Procedures in U.S. District CourtJOURNAL: Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal(Co-authored with Dr. Bob Darcy, Regents Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Statistics at Oklahoma State University)
AUTHOR: Daniel Correa ‘11TITLE: Neuroprudence: Using Neuroscience to Debunk Positivism’s Separation ThesisJOURNAL: The Journal Jurisprudence– and –TITLE: Reciprocity Interest in Political Affiliation: Redefining the Politi-cal Community Toward Just Principles in Immigration ReformJOURNAL: Harvard Latino Law Review
AUTHOR: Corry Kendall ‘11TITLE: State Tolling Practices: The Future of Highway Finance or an Unconstitutional State Practice?JOURNAL: University of Denver Transportation Law Journal
AUTHOR: Benjamin Saunier ‘11TITLE: The Devil is in the Details: Managed Care and the Unforeseen Costs of Utilization Review as a Cost Containment MechanismJOURNAL: Issues in Law & Medicine •
The Written Word
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Paige Masters ’12, 2011-2012 Law Review Editor in Chief.
The Native American Legal Resource Center (NALRC) at Oklahoma City University School of Law facilitated the first Tribal Summit on Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking in Oklahoma Indian Country in October. The Summit was held in partnership with the Na-tive Alliance Against Violence, which is Oklahoma’s tribal coalition for domestic violence issues.
During the Summit, the NALRC taught more than 20 tribal advocates trial skills for domestic violence cases, and engaged participants in a mock trial, where advocates were trained in courtroom dynamics and litigation strategy. Additionally, the NALRC caucused with Oklahoma tribal leaders to discuss the effects of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking in tribal communities in the state.
The NALRC hosted another Tribal Summit focusing on sexual assault in Oklahoma Indian Country in April. •
Making a Difference for Victims of
Domestic Violence
LEGAL BRIEFS:
OCU LAW has the only law library in the state that offers 24-hour access for current students.
“Student response to 24-hour library access has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Lee Peoples, Professor and Law Library Director. “We were very pleased to offer it to students as part of our larger efforts to improve the student experience in the law library.”
Thanks to generous donations from OCU President Robert Henry, the Campus Safety and Crisis Management Committee, the Student Service Fee Reserve Fund and the Law Student Facilities Fee, several security measures have been put into place to safeguard students while they study, day or night. Cameras throughout the Gold Star building are monitored 24/7 by the OCU Police Department. And after-hours access is only available by swiping an OCU ID card through a reader.
“This positive change accommodates the needs of our diverse stu-dent population by providing flexibility and control to its students, and signifies that learning does not stop,” said third year law student Michelle Kaihani.
And as Kaihani suggests, students are utilizing the extra hours. The busiest night is Sunday and the busiest mornings are Tuesday and Wednesday. However, library staff say there are students in the building every night when the circulation desk closes and every morning when they open.
Not only are the extra hours helpful, but so is the library staff. One student commented: “The library personnel could not be more helpful or friendly. I really like that they come say goodbye every night before checking out. It is a nice touch.” •
Studying at All HoursThanks to 24-Hour Access
93L Harold Lamont Thompson studies in the OCU LAW Library.
We asked Professor Lyons a few questions about his first semesterat OCU LAW.
HOW HAS YOUR FIRST SEMESTER BEEN?
The first semester has been great. The students in class have been very prepared and engaged. Their willingness to put the hard work in on tax law has made it a pleasure to teach.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT OCU LAW?
The most rewarding part of teaching at OCU has been experienc-ing the camaraderie and helpfulness among the faculty and staff.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
I am working on an article evaluating differing legal theories’ posi-tions on when it is or is not permissible, other than in situations of self-defense, to knowingly or intentionally cause the death of one or more innocent persons. The context usually involves threaten-ing circumstances, arising either from nature or human agency, where all possible choices facing an actor will result in the loss of innocent life. Obviously, questions arise about the legal and ethical principles that should properly guide a person burdened with the responsibility of making choices in such circumstances. •
Q & A with Professor Lyons
OCU LAW welcomes its newest faculty member, Edward C. Lyons. Before joining our faculty, Professor Lyons was a visiting scholar at the University of Notre Dame Law School. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade teaching a variety of courses at Michigan State University College of Law, including Basic Taxation, Tax Policy, Torts, Tort Theory and Complex Litigation.
Lyons was an associate in the San Francisco office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, where his litigation practice involved tax, securities fraud, mass torts, products liability, insurance coverage and communications law.
Professor Lyons received his juris doctor from the University of Notre Dame. He also holds a Master’s and Ph.D. in Philosophy. Much of his scholarship is focused on interdisciplinary issues in law and philosophy.
“We’re indeed fortunate to have Professor Lyons on our faculty,” said OCU LAW Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Eric T. Laity. “His combination of serious theoretical work in philosophy and sophisticated business law practice makes him an invaluable addition to OCU LAW.” •
NEW ON CAMPUS… Edward C. Lyons
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PHYLLIS E. BERNARDRobert S. Kerr, Jr. Distinguished Professor of LawDirector of the Center on Alternative DisputeResolution: Early Settlement Mediation
PRESENTED• Not Everything is Negotiable: Faith Traditions and International Business Transactions at the Cardozo Law Fall 2011 Symposium on Culture, Religion and Conflict Resolution: What’s Identity and Faith Got To Do With It?
KATHLEEN BROWNAssistant Director for Public and Faculty Services for the OCU LAW Library
AUTHORED• The Legislative Process in the State of Florida published in Legal Reference Services Quarterly • Updating author of the CALI lesson, Rulemaking: Federal Register and CFR
REVIEWED• Prosecuting Heads of State edited by Ellen L. Lutz and Caitlin Reiger for the International Journal of Legal Information
APPOINTED• Executive Board of the American Association of Law Librarians (AALL)
AWARDED• The AALL 2011 Emerging Leader Award
C. BLUE CLARKProfessor of Law
PRESENTED• Strategies for Teaching & Supporting Graduate Students at the Bacone College American Indian Education Forum 2011
J. WILLIAM CONGEROCU General CounselDistinguished Lecturer in Law
AWARDED• Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at OCU’s graduation ceremony in December 2011
PAULA J. DALLEYProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• A Theory of Agency Law published in the University of Pittsburgh Law Review
APPOINTED• Chair of the OCU LAW Dean Search Committee
MICHAEL GRYNBERGAssociate Professor of Law
DEPARTING• Accepted a faculty position at DePaul University College of Law
ALVIN C. HARRELLProfessor of LawEditor of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law (CCFL)Quarterly Report
AUTHORED• Commentary: Treasury/HUD Report on Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market published in CCFL’s Quarterly Report • The 2010 Amendments to the Uniform Text of Article 9 published in CCFL’s Quarterly Report • Co-authored Update on Deposit Account, Negotiable Instrument, and Payment System Issues and Developments with Robert T. Luttrell III and published in CCFL’s Quarterly Report• Von Creel and the End of an Era published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review• Introduction to the 2011 Annual Survey of Consumer Financial Services Law published in Business Law
Legal ActionNotable Accomplishments from OCU LAW
LAWRENCE K. HELLMANDean EmeritusProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• Top o’ the Day t’Ya, Professor Von Creel published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review• Multiple columns on legal ethics for the Oklahoma County Bar Association
TRAVELED• To London to teach a legal ethics course in conjunction with the Stetson University School of Law Semester in London program• To Buenos Aires, Argentina to teach a course on comparative legal ethics• To Dublin, Ireland to give a lecture about the Oklahoma Innocence Project to faculty and students from the Irish Innocence Project at Griffith University School of Law • To China to promote the OCU LAW Certificate in American Law program to five different universities
PRESENTED• About the Oklahoma Innocence Project to a variety of groups including: Oklahoma City Downtown Kiwanis Club Charter 35 Club Oklahoma City Downtown Rotary Club Rotary Club of Pauls Valley
DARLA W. JACKSONOCU LAW Library Associate DirectorDirector of the Chinese Certificate in American Law Program
AUTHORED• At Ease: A Guide for Legal Research Related to Military Issues published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal• Thinking About Technology – Watson, Answer Me This: Will You Make Librarians Obsolete or Can I Use Free and Open Source Software and Cloud Computing to Ensure a Bright Future? published in the Law Library Journal• Thinking About Technology – Standard Bar Codes Beware-Smart Phone Users May Prefer QR Codes published in the Law Library Journal• Legislative History: A Guide for the State of Oklahoma published in the Legal Reference Services Quarterly
DANNE L. JOHNSONProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• Untwisting Lifeline NonProfits in the Economic Crisis published in the Georgetown Journal of Poverty Law & Policy
APPOINTED• To a three-year term on the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Committee on Sections and Annual Meetings (SAM)• Chair of the AALS Section on Women in Legal Education
Phyllis E. Bernard
J. William Conger
Alvin C. Harrell
Danne L. Johnson
Arthur G. LeFrancois
Kathleen Brown
Michael Grynberg
Lawrence K. Hellman
Laurie W. Jones
Eric T. Laity
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LAURIE W. JONESProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• Making a Will Program published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal
APPOINTED• To serve as the OCU LAW Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
ERIC T. LAITYProfessor of LawAssociate Dean for Academic Affairs
APPOINTED• To serve as the OCU LAW Interim Dean
TRAVELED• To Paris, France to attend the Annual Congress of the International Fiscal Association
ARTHUR G. LEFRANCOISProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• Von Creel published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review
EDWARD C. LYONSAssociate Professor of Law
ARRIVED• Prof. Lyons joined the faculty of OCU LAW this fall after an appointment as a visiting scholar for the 2010-11 academic year at Notre Dame Law School
VICKI LAWRENCE MACDOUGALLProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• Professor Von Russell Creel: Chapters published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review• A contributing author for the 2011-2012 Cumulative Supplement, in Oklahoma Product Liability Law
BRENDAN S. MAHERAssistant Professor of Law
AUTHORED• The Benefits of Opt-In Federalism published in the Boston College Law Review
PRESENTED• On a panel addressing Disparities in Access to Healthcare during the Connecticut Law Review’s 2011-2012 Symposium in November
Daniel J. Morgan
Michael P. O’Shea
Andrew C. Spiropoulos
Kelly Stoner
Vicki LawrenceMacDougall
Tiffany Murphy
Jennifer Prilliman
DANIEL J. MORGANNorman & Edem Professor of Trial Advocacy
AUTHORED• Von Creel: Oklahoma Historian published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review
AWARDED• The first Norman & Edem Professorship in Trial Advocacy established by the Oklahoma City law firm of Norman & Edem, PLLC during the 2010 Seize the Moment capital campaign
TIFFANY MURPHYDirector of the Oklahoma Innocence Project
ARRIVED• Prof. Tiffany Murphy joined the OCU LAW faculty this year as the Director of the Oklahoma Innocence Project (OIP) after serving as legal director and interim executive director of the Midwestern Innocence Project in Kansas City
MICHAEL P. O’SHEAAssociate Professor of Law
AUTHORED• Co-authored an Amici Curiae Brief to the Illinois Supreme Court in Support of Defendant-Appellant, People v. Aguilar, No. 112116
TESTIFIED• During an Oklahoma House Public Safety Committee meeting studying Oklahoma gun laws
CELESTE PAGANOAssistant Professor of Law
PRESENTED• At the Symposium on Sino-American Comparative Law based on her 2009 article, Proceed with Caution: Hazards of Toll Road Privatization
LEE F. PEOPLESLaw Library DirectorProfessor of Law
REVIEWED• Legal Research Methods in a Modern World: A Coursebook, Third Edition for the International Journal of Legal Information
PRESENTED• A CLE to the Oklahoma Chapter of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Inn of Court on The Future of Legal Research• A CALI lesson on Consumer Law Research
JENNIFER PRILLIMANReference Librarian for Public, Clinical and Student Services
AUTHORED• Children and Family Law: A Practitioner’s Resource Guide published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal
PRESENTED• A session at the American Association of Law Librarians (AALL) conference titled, Creating and Administering a Legal Research Certificate Program• Building a Law School Community: OCU’s Unique Use of Libguides at the CALI Annual Conference
SHANNON ROESLERAssociate Professor of Law
PRESENTED• An ethics session at a course for rule-of-law practitioners in Berlin, Germany
CASEY ROSS-PETHERICKDeputy Director of the Native American Legal Resource Center
APPOINTED• By the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to serve on its Oklahoma State Advisory Committee
ANDREW C. SPIROPOULOSProfessor of LawDirector of the Center for the Study of State Constitutional Lawand Government
AUTHORED• All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Von Creel published in the Oklahoma City University Law Review• Reaction or Reformation? Leo Strauss and American Constitutional Law 1 published in the Northeastern Interdisciplinary Law Review
APPOINTED• By the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to serve on its Oklahoma State Advisory Committee
TESTIFIED• Before the Oklahoma Legislature’s Joint Committee on Federal Health Care Law
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CARLA SPIVACKProfessor of Law
AUTHORED• Let’s Get Serious: Spousal Abuse Should be a Complete Bar to Inheritance published in the Oregon Law Review
PRESENTED• At the Chicago-Kent Law Review’s Symposium on women’s legal history
TRAVELED• Prof. Spivack was a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law during the spring 2012 semester
KELLY STONERInstructor in LawDirector of the Native American Legal Resource Center
APPOINTED• To the Seminole Nation Supreme Court after the tribal judicial system was re-established in 2011
DEBORAH S. TUSSEYProfessor of LawPriddy Fellow
TRAVELED• Prof. Tussey was a visiting professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law during the fall 2011 semester
SYMPOSIUM ON SINO-AMERICANCOMPARATIVE LAWSA delegation of OCU LAW faculty traveled to Tianjin, China in the summer of 2011 for the Sino-American Comparative Law sympo-sium. Nankai University School of Law, one of the participating universities in OCU LAW’s Certificate in American Law program, hosted the symposium. Faculty members in attendance were
(first row from left to right): Deborah Tussey, Lee Peoples, Danne Johnson, Lawrence Hellman, Eric Laity, Michael Grynberg, Michael O’Shea, Brendan Maher and Celeste Pagano.
2011 MIDWEST CLINICAL CONFERENCEOCU LAW’s Clinical Professors attended the 2011 Midwest Clinical Conference held in Madison, Wisconsin. The conference theme was True Grit: The Grit of What We Do, and the goal was to improve clini-cal legal education by examining its foundation. OCU LAW’s three clinical professors, Christina Misner-Pollard, Casey Ross-Petherick, and Tiffany Murphy presented a session on Building Cross-Cultural Competency. The conference was attended by more than 120 profes-sors from 37 law schools.
CONGRATULATIONSProfessor Von R. Creel retired in 2011 after 41 years at OCU LAW.
Creel joined the faculty in 1971 and was known for being hard but fair to the students taking his Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws and Legal History courses. During his tenure at OCU LAW, he served as acting dean in 1973-1974. In 1975, he took a two-year leave of absence from the faculty to serve as Governor David L. Boren’s Chief of Staff. During his long career, he was also vice-chair of the Selection Advisory Committee for the United States Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, presiding judge of the Tempo-rary Division of the Oklahoma Court of Appeals, a member of the state task force to revise the rules of appellate procedure, and of counsel at the firm of Linn and Neville. Prior to teaching, Creel was a law clerk for Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alfred P. Murrah.
He is the author or co-author of several history books, including Okla-homa City University School of Law A History, written with alumnus Bob Burke, about the university he served for more than four decades.
In the book, Oklahoma City University School of Law A History, Emmanuel Edem ’82 pays Creel the ultimate compliment: “He knew his stuff.” •
OCU LAW faculty pose for a picture at the Sino-American Comparative Law symposium. Professor Von R. Creel
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A wiki is a web page created through collaborative effort. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that contains over fifteen million articles in 270 languages. Anyone can create or edit Wikipedia content at any time. Wikipedia makes no guarantees about the validity of the information it contains and warns users that articles may contain false or debatable information. Wikipedia articles have been purposely falsified by pranksters, and as a result changes to articles about living people must be verified by Wikipedia editors before going live. The citation of Wikipedia in papers and exams has been formally banned at several colleges, and Wikipedia’s founder has publicly warned college students not to cite it in their papers.
Surprisingly Wikipedia has been cited in over 400 judicial opinions. Many of these references are harmless citations used for background information or dicta. But in some instances courts have taken judicial notice of Wikipedia content, decided important motions on the basis of Wikipedia entries, and relied on Wikipedia to support judicial reasoning.
USING WIKIS
In spite of its deficiencies, Wikipedia can be a useful starting point for research. Wikipedia can be used for gathering search terms before beginning research in an area that you are unfamiliar with. A few minutes spent mining a Wikipedia entry for relevant search terms can save considerable time and produce more relevant search results when using LexisNexis or Westlaw. Some Wikipedia entries are carefully footnoted with references to reliable sources of infor-mation. A few moments spent reviewing the footnotes may lead you to a relevant source. For example, in a recent opinion the Seventh Circuit referenced the Wikipedia entry on shell corporations and noted that the Wikipedia entry was quoting from Barron’s Finance & Investment Handbook.
A wiki created or edited by a noted expert in a particular area of law could potentially be superior to a law review article or book by the same expert. The wiki could be updated instantly and reflect the most recent changes in the law. In contrast, it would take the expert months or years to publish a treatise or law review article discussing the latest developments in the law.
WHEN CITING A WIKI MAY BE APPROPRIATE
The agility of wikis gives them an advantage over print resources in certain situations. Wikipedia entries have been cited in judicial opinions to define new slang terms, popular culture references, and to explain jargon, lingo, and technology terms. Many of these terms are so new that they are not yet included in more traditional reference sources like encyclopedias or dictionaries. For example, Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently turned to Wikipedia to define a term related to the Internet in a dissenting opinion. Judge Kozinski criticized the majority opinion for defining the term using a print dictionary published in 1963, more than twenty years before the Internet came into existence. Similarly, the Western District Court of Oklahoma cited a wiki to define the technology term “data-carving,” and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals cited Wikipedia for a list of computer file formats.
The collaborative process through which Wikipedia entries are created makes them particularly useful in certain situations. Courts interpret-ing insurance contracts have turned to Wikipedia for evidence of the common usage or ordinary and plain meaning of a contract term. For example, a Wikipedia entry has been relied on to define the terms “recreational vehicle” and “car accident” in the context of insur-ance contracts. It is conceivable that in the future courts may turn to Wikipedia to determine public perception in trademark infringement or dilution cases or to establish community standards in the context of prosecutions for obscene material.
Lee F. PeoplesProfessor and Law Library Director
Oklahoma City University School of Law
The Lawyer’s Guide to Usingand Citing Wikipedia
EVALUATING A WIKIPEDIA ENTRY
Wikipedia entries should be evaluated to determine if they meet basic standards of quality before they are cited. Wikipedia editors include editorial notes in Wikipedia entries to indicate the quality of the entry. Entries bearing a small gold star in the upper right hand corner are “featured articles” and have been recognized for being accurate, neutral, and com-plete. At the other end of the spectrum are “stubs,” articles containing only a few sentences. Additional editorial notes appearing at the top of some articles include “missing footnotes,” “requires authentication by an expert,” or “requires cleanup.” 115 of the Wikipedia entries cited in the opinions I examined included editorial notes alerting the reader to something negative in the Wikipedia entry. But none of the 401 judicial opinions I examined mentioned these rankings when citing a Wikipedia entry.
Editorial notes can be helpful in evaluating a Wikipedia entry. But the analysis of the quality of an entry should not rest entirely on a note made by a volunteer Wikipedia editor. Any Wikipedia entry cited in a brief or judicial opinion should be evaluated for authority, complete-ness, accuracy, and bias. The authority of a Wikipedia entry is difficult to determine. Wikipedia entries are the products of collaboration, and no one individual author can be identified. The only clue to the author’s identity comes from the “View History” tab at the top of every Wiki-pedia entry. It reveals the user name or IP address of every user who edited the article. Completeness, accuracy, and bias can be evaluated by watching for editorial notes appearing in the Wikipedia entry and by comparing the Wikipedia entry to a reliable source like a treatise or scholarly article.
CITING WIKIPEDIA ENTRIES
The purpose of legal citation is “to allow the reader to efficiently locate the cited source.” The constantly changing nature of Wikipedia entries makes them challenging sources to cite. Every Wikipedia entry cited in the 401 cases that I examined had changed since the date the court cited it. Some of the changes were minor and improved the entry. In other cases the entry changed significantly and no longer contained the information it was cited for in the judicial opinion.
Changes in Wikipedia entries may be of little concern to researchers if the initial citation was for a trivial point or collateral matter. But if the Wikipedia entry was cited to support an assertion made in a judicial opinion, or was otherwise relied upon by the court, then the inability to examine the entry as the judge saw it has more severe consequences. Future researchers may not be able to completely comprehend the point the judge was making if they cannot retrieve the exact Wikipedia entry as the judge viewed it. This may ultimately lead to uncertainty and instability in the law.
Specific information must be included in the citation to allow the reader to view the Wikipedia entry as it appeared at the time it was cited. The rules on citing Internet sources in the 19th edition of “The Bluebook” are a vast improvement over the previous edition’s rules. Rule 18.2.2 covers direct citations to Internet sources. Under this rule Wikipedia entries should be cited as follows:
Wear and Tear, WIKIPEDIA (Mar. 26, 2009, 2:15 PM), http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wear_and_tear&oldid=237134914.
Rule 18.2.2 requires a citation to include the title of the page viewed, the date and time it was viewed, and a permanent link to the page viewed. Wikipedia provides a permanent link under the toolbox section on the left hand side of each entry. This link will take future researchers to the entry exactly as it looked when it was cited.
WHEN NOT TO CITE WIKIPEDIA
Wikipedia should not be cited as the only source to support reason-ing or analysis. One of the most egregious examples comes from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Rickher v. Home Depot where the court relied on the Wikipedia definition of “wear and tear” to refute a claim central to the appellant’s case that wear and tear encompassed damage that would occur during the proper use of a rental tool. Blogger and law professor Eugene Volokh was troubled by the use of Wikipedia as a “substantial authority” and cautioned that because the accuracy of Wikipedia had not been demonstrated courts should rely on more traditional sources when deciding important and controversial matters.
Wikipedia has been used in disturbing ways in immigration cases. In Badasa v. Mukasey the Eighth Circuit wisely remanded a Board of Im-migration Appeals decision denying an asylum request because it was based solely on a definition taken from Wikipedia. The Eighth Circuit’s opinion contained several paragraphs critiquing the reliability of Wiki-pedia. One blogger noted that the use of Wikipedia in this case “would almost be humorous if it weren’t for the dire consequences of rejecting a valid asylum application and returning a refugee to a country in which they face torture and possibly death.”
In Tandia v. Gonzales the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals cited a Wikipedia entry to support an attack on the credibility of an asylum seeker. According to the asylum seeker the population of his hometown Kaedi was 800. The court found that this claim undermined the asylum seeker’s credibility. This finding was supported by a quotation from the Wikipedia entry on Kaedi which states that “it is presently a city of over 60,000 people.” A more reliable source of population information
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should have been used when questioning the credibility of the asylum seeker. The United States Department of State Background Notes contain detailed information about all countries in the world. The Background Note on the city of Kaedi located in the African country of Mauritania puts the city’s population at only 34,000. The court should have turned to a more reliable source of information for this important fact instead of unreliable information obtained from Wikipedia.
Courts should not take judicial notice of Wikipedia content because it does not meet the evidentiary requirements for judicial notice. Courts may take judicial notice of a fact that is “not subject to reasonable dispute in that it is either (1) generally known within the territorial jurisdiction of the trial court or (2) capable of ac-curate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.” Wikipedia entries are often the subjects of dispute, and Wikipedia has an elaborate process in place to settle disputes over entries. Additionally, Wikipedia is a source whose accuracy can be reasonably questioned. It can be edited at any time by anonymous editors. Wikipedia entries are often marked with editorial notes including “missing footnotes,” “doesn’t cite any sources,” “requires authentication by an expert,” and “neutrality dis-puted.” In the majority of cases courts have wisely refused to take judicial notice of Wikipedia content. However, courts have taken judicial notice of Wikipedia content in a small handful of cases. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to take judicial notice of the Wikipedia entry for “happy hour” in the recent case of Luevano v. Holder. The court did not address the merits of taking judicial notice of a Wikipedia entry and instead denied the request on rel-
evancy grounds. No other Oklahoma or Tenth Circuit opinion has addressed the issue of taking judicial notice of a Wikipedia entry.
Wikipedia entries should not be accepted to demonstrate the presence or absence of a material fact in the context of a motion for summary judgment. Anyone can edit a Wikipedia entry at any time to support their version of the facts at issue in a case. Courts should be wary of any such “opportunistic editing” of Wikipedia and should not trust it in the context of a motion for summary judg-ment. In several cases courts have relied on a Wikipedia entry along with other sources to grant or deny a motion for summary judgment. But so far courts have wisely rejected attempts to show the presence or absence of a material fact based only on a Wikipedia entry. No Oklahoma or Tenth Circuit case has addressed the use of Wikipedia in the context of a motion for summary judgment.
CONCLUSION
In James Surowiecki’s book The Wisdom of Crowds he argues that “under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them.” Judges and lawyers should be cautious when relying on the wisdom of the crowds who create and edit Wikipedia content. Wikipedia’s rapidly updated crowd sourced content makes it particularly useful in limited situations. But the impermanent nature and questionable quality of its content should give lawyers and judges pause before citing Wikipedia. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lee F. Peoples is Director of the Law Library and Professor of Law Library Science at Oklahoma City University School of Law. He received his B.A., M.L.I.S., and J.D. degrees from the University of Oklahoma. His research and scholarship focuses on
comparative law and on the impact of technology on legal research, the judiciary, and the law.
“Under the right circumstances, groups are remarkably intelligent, and are often smarter than the smartest people in them.”
- James Surowiecki’
SHAPING LEGAL THOUGHT2011 OCU LAW Distinguished Speakers
January 25thMADELINE DELONEExecutive Director,Innocence Project
February 22ndINTEGRIS HEALTH LAW & MEDICINELECTURE SERIESELEANOR DEARMAN KINNEYHall Render Professor of Law Emeritus andCo-Director of the William S. and Christine S. Hall Centerfor Law and Health,Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis
March 8thNATASCHA FERGUSONJuvenile Office Delinquent Case Attorney,Oklahoma County Public Defender’s Office
March 9thMIKE OAKLEYGeneral Counsel,Oklahoma Department of Corrections
March 21stVALERIE K. COUCHMagistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma DR. LAURA PITMANDeputy Director, Female Offender Operations,Oklahoma Department of Corrections DR. REBECCA KENNEDYOklahoma Commission on the Status of WomenDR. JEAN WARNERChair, Oklahoma Women’s Coalition
March 21stSEN. RALPH SHORTEYDistrict 44,Oklahoma Senate
March 22ndTRAVIS WHITEDeputy General Counsel,Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics
March 22ndSTEPHANIE HUDSONDirector, Oklahoma Indian Legal ServicesPEARY ROBERTSONOwner/Operator, Robertson Law OfficeDANA JIMAssistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General
March 22ndSTEVEN FEISALRegulatory Attorney,Chesapeake Energy Corporation
April 4thSUE ANN HAMMAttorney,Continental Resources, Inc.
April 7thQUINLAN LECTURE KATHLEEN SULLIVANStanley Morrison Professor of Law,Stanford Law School
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April 10thBETTY ANNE WATERS Attorney,Her story inspired the movie Conviction
April 14thSANDRA DAY O’CONNORSupreme Court Justice (ret.)
September 12thRAND PHIPPSSenior Vice-President, Secretary, General Counseland Chief Operating Officer,Mustang FuelANDREA BRAEUTIGAMExecutive Director,Oklahoma Agriculture Mediation Program
September 15thJEFF BERRYSports Agent,CAA Sports
September 26thWES JOHNSONFormer Police Officer,Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
September 27thINTEGRIS HEALTH LAW & MEDICINE LECTURE SERIESKEITH FINDLEYClinical Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin Law SchoolPATRICK D. BARNES, MDChief, Pediatric Neuroradiology,Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at StanfordDAVID A. MORANCo-Director, Michigan Innocence ClinicCARRIE SPERLINGAssociate Clinical Professor of Law, Arizona State University
October 13thJENNIFER FRIEDMANPublic Defender,Los Angeles County, CA
October 19thBRENNAN LECTURECLINT BOLICKDirector, Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Law,Goldwater Institute
November 9thVALERIE K. COUCHMagistrate Judge,U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma •
Madeline deLone Kathleen Sullivan Betty Anne Waters Sandra Day O’Connor Clint Bolick
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Education is the most powerful force for change. I learned this lesson through the decade I spent as a middle school teacher. But education is much more than acquiring factual knowledge or learning a process through guided instruction. Education itself is a process whereby individuals become in-formed so they may develop mentally, morally, and spiritually. It is more than formal instruction occurring in a classroom environment. Each day we are presented with countless op-portunities to be educated. Unfortunately, we often overlook these opportunities, which pass us by as routine or mundane encounters. We focus on our beliefs – that which we “know” and the things we believe to be “true.” These beliefs define who we are and what we do. We become invested in our beliefs and defend them rather than listening, considering, and engaging the world around us. Yet, it is not an either-or proposition. My first year of teaching shattered my beliefs about schools and education – the teachers, the administra-tors, a teacher’s job, the student’s role in her education, and even the teacher’s lounge. I was confronted daily with new knowledge through my experiences that challenged what I “knew” about every facet of education and necessarily revised my beliefs. The Innocence Clinic is having a similar effect on my beliefs about the criminal justice system in Oklahoma. A widespread discussion about wrongful convictions in the American judicial system has arisen relatively recently. Conse-quently, research, studies, and findings regarding the trends and causes of wrongful convictions have grown over the past two decades. Innocence Projects across the country have played an integral role in raising awareness about the existence, causes, and means for remedying wrongful convictions.
The Oklahoma Innocence Project opened its doors at Oklahoma City University School of Law this past summer. Along with four other students, I began my work at the clinic as part of my coursework in August 2011 . In addition to classroom instruc-tion, the clinic offers students a real world setting in which cases are received, reviewed, and investigated for actual innocence. Cases identified with potential for a viable claim of actual in-nocence are then fully investigated by students and litigated. We are learning to use the state court records’ systems and PACER, to request records, to navigate a court clerk’s office, call attor-neys, track down witnesses, interview clients, and evaluate case files. These skills cannot be taught in a classroom and must be learned by actually doing them. While I value the acquisition of these skills and this experience, I find the education I am receiv-ing about our criminal justice system is invaluable. I see the Oklahoma Innocence Project as more than a microcosm of the law school with its function limited to working cases. I see it as the catalyst for educating our community and for par-ticipating in the larger, nationwide discussion about the problem of wrongful convictions. The OIP has sparked a dialogue that extends beyond the borders of the campus and across the state about the causes of wrongful convictions and the means for remedying and preventing them. It is awareness and dialogue that enable the exchange of information, which is the essence of education. It allows those individuals and entities who work within the criminal justice system or whose work is relied on for obtaining criminal convictions to examine the system and make it better. As Maya Angelou said, “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” I believe the work of the OIP will help us know better, so we can do better. •
Jill Swank ’11
Know Better & Do BetterLessons from the Oklahoma Innocence Project
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jill Swank grew up in Oklahoma City where she attended McGuinness High School and then Westminster College in Missouri. She has a five-year-old daughter and taught during her first three years in law school before working as a law clerk at Niemeyer, Alexander,
Austin and Phillips, P.C. and then Dunlap Codding, P.C. where she has continued to work after graduating in December 2011.
A member of the prosecution team during opening arguments.
An OBN agent testifies during the trial.
Members of the OCU LAW AAJ team.
Hope Knight, Clinical Instructor of Nursing at OCU.Penny Oleson, a member of the OCU LAW AAJ team, during her opening statement for the defense.
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The prosecutor asked the defendant on the witness stand if she under-stood the gravity of what she was facing.
The defendant, a registered nurse named Faith Jones, answered slowly. “They tell me I’m charged with first-degree manslaughter,” she said, her voice trembling, “because I caused the death of one of Dr. Munge’s patients.”
It was a stirring moment of courtroom drama – except that it wasn’t real. On November 10, the worlds of Oklahoma City University’s School of Law and Kramer School of Nursing converged with a mock trial at the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom. Designed to help teach nursing students about drug diversion, the project also provided several OCU LAW students with valuable trial experience.
The idea for a mock trial came about when nursing instructors wanted to give students a taste of what can happen when they fail to follow proper procedure. OCU nursing instructor Hope Knight, who wound up portraying the shaky-voiced defendant, reached out to Dan Morgan, Norman & Edem Professor of Trial Advocacy at OCU LAW. Morgan, in turn, brought in the school’s American As-sociation for Justice (AAJ) mock trial team.
For the AAJ team, the collaboration offered a great opportunity.
“Any experience I can give our team before our competition, we’ll take it,” said AAJ team member Penny Oleson. “I accepted on my own behalf. I took it back to my team and they said, ‘Oh, my gosh, we’d love to work on it.’”
She and her teammates – Kevin Stauffer, James Scott, Adrienne Staton, Kyle Cabelka, Taylor Robertson, Paige Veazey and Caitlin Irwin – dug into the project with gusto. They joined educators from the nursing school to hammer out the case scenario and handle the defense.
The script rang with authenticity. Faith Jones was charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of Wilma Hone, an elderly patient of Dr. Munge. The doctor had prescribed Percocet for the woman, but when the prescription runs out a month later and needs to be refilled, Munge is not in the office. He has been out for several weeks due to a family crisis. His RN, Jones, unable to contact the doctor, eventually orders a Lortab prescription for Hone.
Later, Hone dies after complications with pain pills and alcohol.
“Our premise was to scare the bejeebers out of the student nurses, which I think we accomplished,” Knight said with a laugh. “They were seeing that actions have consequences.”
The trial received an additional layer of realism with participation from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics. OBN Director Darrell Weaver portrayed the investigating officer. The agency’s general counsel, Travis White, played the presiding judge, while OBN deputy counsel Sandra Lavenue served as the prosecutor.
In the end, however, students mounted a vigorous defense. After a jury of nursing students deliberated without rendering a verdict, the judge called a mistrial.
Oleson was understandably proud of her team’s performance. “We weren’t going to just roll over,” she said. “We worked really hard.”
OCU LAW and nursing professors anticipate making this an annual event. Next year, however, Knight said she hopes OCU President Robert Henry will be available to be the judge. After all, he has some experience in that role. •
Phil Bacharach
When Worlds Collide
Hope Knight, Clinical Instructor of Nursing at OCU.
Phot
o cou
rtesy
of th
e Nat
iona
l Inf
antr
y Mus
eum
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On the morning of September 11, 2001, you and I stared at the televi-sion, watching smoke pour out of the World Trade Center’s twin tow-ers, wondering what was happening in the heart of New York City.
Rick Rescorla, OCU LAW ‘75, was too busy to watch or to wonder. He was in Tower 2. He was saving 2,700 lives.
Ten years later, Rescorla’s heroism has been recognized in books and in Time Magazine. A History Channel documentary is devoted to his 1993 prediction that terrorists would use a plane to hit the World Trade Center; experts in counterterrorism and security discuss his eight-year campaign to prepare his co-workers for the disaster he had predicted. He is the subject of a full-length opera; his statue stands on the Walk of Honor at the National Infantry Museum, Ft. Benning, Georgia. Here at OCU, we hardly know him. Rescorla’s OCU file is just seven pages long. His law school transcript has nothing out of the ordinary (although you could say that four years of night classes in the old Barracks were anything but ordinary). He filled out his law school application by hand, and most of his answers are typical for the time. “How many hours per week do you work? Forty” “Why do you apply to this particular school? Evening courses will not conflict with my employment.” Some are not so typical.
Michael GibsonProfessor of Law
Oklahoma City University School of Law
Cover StoryFrom the Barracks to
World Trade Center Hero
Rick Rescorla, ‘75
“From what high school did you graduate? Humphry Davy School, Penzance, Cornwall, England.” “What extra-curricular honors have you won? Governor’s Oklahoma Commendation Medal; Silver Star; Bronze Star w/ oak leaf cluster; Purple Heart.”
Growing up in Cornwall, Rescorla was fascinated by the American soldiers stationed nearby, and he learned the songs of his region, songs like Men of Harlech, which commemorates the seven-year defense of Harlech Castle in Wales in the 1400s. He joined the British Army, did police work in Rhodesia, and then entered the U.S. Army. He served two tours in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division: sometimes he sang to his troops to calm them. Lt. General Hal Moore described him as “the best platoon leader I ever saw” and put Rescorla’s photo on the front cover of his book. In 1967, Rescorla became a U.S. citizen, took a friend’s advice, and enrolled in a writing program at the University of Oklahoma. In 1972, he entered OCU LAW’s evening program. Back then, we were in “the Barracks”, two bricked-over, World War II Quonset huts with a leaky roof and drafty windows. He graduated in 1975, taught for a few years, then entered corporate security.
He wound up in New York City, working for Dean Witter Reynolds, a brokerage firm headquartered in the World Trade Center. In 1990, he and a friend warned the New York Port Authority that the center was vul-nerable to a car bomb in its parking garage. The Port Authority took no action. Three years later, a terrorist did just what Rescorla had predicted.
After that bombing, Rescorla predicted another attack on the World Trade Center, even suggesting that terrorists might use a plane full of explosives. He pressured his company to move out; he urged the Port Authority to reform its security and evacuation plans. He got nowhere. Then he made the decision. If no one would help him save his co-workers, he would teach his co-workers to save themselves. He began regular evacuation drills, standing in the stairwells, stop watch in hand. He taught his colleagues always to go down, not up (helicopter rescues from rooftops are rare). He told his co-workers never to wait for police or fire fighters, to always take charge of their own survival. He persisted for eight years, despite a divorce, a long battle with cancer, and a second marriage. In 1997, Dean Witter merged with Morgan Stanley, putting Rescorla in charge of security for floors 44 through 73 of Tower 2. He kept up the drills, insisting that everyone participate, even visitors. Time Magazine’s Amanda Ripley described Rescorla’s planning and persistence in her book, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes–and Why:
The radicalism of Rescorla’s drills cannot be overstated. [This was] an investment bank. Millionaire, high-performance bankers on the seventy-third floor chafed at Rescorla’s evacu- ation regimen. They did not appreciate interrupting high- net-worth clients in the middle of a meeting. Each drill, which pulled the firm’s brokers off their phones and away from their computers, cost the company money. But Rescorla did it anyway... His military training taught him a simple rule of human nature, the core lesson of this book: the best way to get the brain to perform under extreme stress is to repeatedly run through rehearsals beforehand.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Rick Rescorla heard an explosion next door in Tower 1. As he grabbed his bullhorn and his hard hat, someone from the Port Authority came over the building’s loudspeak-ers, telling everyone to stay at their desks. But Rescorla was adamant. He went from floor to floor, telling Morgan Stanley employees to evacuate, to stay away from the elevators, to follow the procedures they had practiced for so many years. Then he took a position in the sky lobby of the 44th floor, where his fire drills traditionally had ended. He was directing traffic down the stairs at 9:03 a.m., when the building shook violently. No one knew that the terrorists’ second plane had struck. The lights went out. The hundreds of people on the 44th floor felt Tower 2 tip to one side, then snap back up. People were thrown against walls, thrown to the floor. People panicked, started to run to the stairwells. Rescorla’s voice came over the bullhorn. “Stop. Be still. Be silent. Be calm.” And then Morgan Stanley employees heard the strangest of all the sounds they would hear that day. Just as Rick Rescorla had sung to his troops in the jungles of Vietnam, he was singing to them, singing that old Welsh song:
Tongues of fire on Idris flaring, News of foeman near declaring. To heroic deeds of daring, Call ye Harlech men!
Groans of wounded peasants dying, Wails of wives and children crying, For the distant succor crying, Call ye Harlech men! .... Mothers, cease your weeping. Calm you may be sleeping. You and yours in safety now The Harlech men are keeping. Ere the sun is high in heaven, They you fear by panic riven, Shall like frightened sheep be driven, Far by Harlech men!
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People stopped, listened, and resumed the drill they had done so many times before. Rescorla moved from floor to floor, still singing, still calming his co-workers. At one point, he stopped and called his wife, Susan. According to James B. Stewart’s biography, Heart of a Soldier, Rescorla told her not to cry. “I have to get these people out safely. If something should happen to me, I want you to know I’ve never been happier. You made my life.” Two thousand, six hundred, and eighty-seven Morgan Stanley employees made it out of Tower 2 that morning. Rick Rescorla, ‘75, was last seen on the stairs on the 10th floor, walking up. I learned about Rescorla in 2002, purely by chance. Time Magazine had named Heart of a Soldier the best non-fiction book of the year; The Oklahoman’s review of that book mentioned Rescorla’s studies at OCU. I read the book, but somehow I didn’t appreciate the enor-mity of what the man had done. The bombing’s tenth anniversary persuaded me that I was wrong. I mentioned Rescorla to our director of marketing and communica-tions, Brook Arbeitman, who worked for the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security for more than seven years. She had learned about Rescorla at a community preparedness conference in Wash-ington, D.C several years ago. He was inspiring to her for many rea-sons, but especially in the area of emergency preparedness planning, which was part of her work at Homeland Security. Brook said she used to talk about Rescorla when she gave presentations across the state. But it wasn’t until she started at OCU LAW that she learned he was an alumnus. She was shocked that in a state where we are so proud of our citizens and their great accomplishments, no one here knows about Rescorla, his ties to Oklahoma or his heroism on 9/11. I discovered the History Channel regularly shows a documentary about him, The Man Who Predicted 9/11. The Oklahoma Mili-tary Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009. The San Francisco Opera premiered a full-length opera based on his life, The Heart of a Sol-
dier, on Sept. 11, 2011. The University of Oklahoma posthumously named him its Alumnus of the Year. But I had let OCU do nothing. The day after the tenth anniversary, I told Rescorla’s story to my students in Contracts and in Sales and Leases. I played for them the Royal Regiment of Wales’ version of the song so many of Rescorla’s co-workers remember hearing as he guided them down the stairs.
It is Men of Harlech, that old Welsh tribute to those who defended their community for seven long years back in the fifteenth century. The movie Zulu (1964) had its own version, but I like to think that Rescorla used the traditional lyrics he had learned as a boy. You can find them by googling “Men of Harlech music” and looking for a black screen with the lyrics in white. I’m listening to that song now as I type. My eyes are full of tears, as were the eyes of my students last fall. Next year, I will tell Rescorla’s story to a new group of students, but that will not be enough.
So I ask for your help. I stand willing to write a check, but I need your ideas and your support. How can we honor someone who did not give up in the jungles of Vietnam, the old Barracks of OCU, or the stairwells of the World Trade Center, someone who saved 2,700 lives and then gave his life trying to save more? And in honoring Rescorla, we will do something even more impor-tant. Our students need to know that wherever they came from, they still can make a difference in this world. They need to realize that lawyers can do more than draft complaints and accumulate billable hours. They need to understand that when they come to OCU LAW, they come not just to study Contracts, the Rule against Perpetuities, or even the intricacies of Pennoyer v Neff. They come to walk in the steps of a hero. •
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Gibson has taught Contracts, Sales and Leases, and Federal Courts at OCU LAWfor 28 years. He also is the law school’s unofficial archivist: his bookshelves hold twenty-two
three-ring binders full of news clippings about alumni, faculty, and staff.
A PLACE OF HONOR2011 OCU LAWAlumni Awards
They serve their clients, their community and
their country. They are attorneys, judges, part-
ners, and shareholders. They are mothers and
fathers, husbands and wives. They are volunteers
and community leaders. They are beacons. Their
stories are varied, but their common connection
is OCU LAW. This past November, we celebrat-
ed their success at the annual Alumni & Friends
luncheon. Join us as we honor them, again, for
all they have accomplished during their careers.
31
Justice Marian P. Opala AwardFor Lifetime Achievement In Law
HON. NILES JACKSON ’75
From reporter to Peace Corps volunteer to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, Niles Jackson has had an interesting journey. With a degree in anthropology from Colgate University, in 1964 he set out into the world of news. Among his pre-law stints, he wrote for the Associ-ated Press, anchored the news at a Charleston, WV television station and was a talk show host and reporter for KTOK Radio. After a few years in the news biz, he realized he wanted more. Jackson said he hand-typed 75 letters to every law school in the country. The effort paid off because in 1972 he started classes at OCU LAW – the beginning of what was to be a distinguished legal career.
Jackson graduated seventh in his class in 1975. He excelled at OCU LAW academically, receiving three American Jurisprudence awards. Upon graduation he landed in Perry, OK as an Assistant District Attorney. He then worked for the State District Attorneys’ Council and two judges before becoming a judge himself in 1984.
Over the past 28 years, Jackson has served as a Special District Court Judge, State Court District Judge for Oklahoma County, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge – the post he currently holds. It is his contri-butions to the National Association of Bankruptcy Judges and the Administration of Bankruptcy Committee of the Judicial Confer-ence that he considers significant career achievements. He is active in his community serving on various boards and com-mittees. He has earned numerous awards, including the Professional Service Award from the Oklahoma County Bar Association (2000), the John E. Shipp Professionalism Award from the Ginsburg Inn of Court (1999) and the Outstanding State Trial Judge award from the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association (1996).
For many years, he moderated OETA’s “Ask-a-Lawyer” Law Day pro-gram and wrote a weekly column for Friday Newspaper called “The Case of –.” Judge Jackson is never far from his ‘news’ roots. •
CATHY CHRISTENSEN ’86
Family matters to Cathy Christensen. In fact, her private practice focuses on family law. It is close to her heart professionally, person-ally and in her community service.
It was during her time at OCU LAW that her family grew. A friend recently remembered a time when Christensen was pregnant and studying in the law library. Law school is challenging enough and add to it being a new parent, but Christensen didn’t flinch.
Determination is a characteristic that continues to push Chris-tensen. She owns her own firm, Cathy Christensen & Associ-ates, P.C. and is an active participant in the Oklahoma City legal community as a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA), the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and the Oklahoma County Bar As-sociation. She served as the 1994 OBA Vice-President and served six years as Governor of the OBA. And this year, the OCU LAW alumna leads the OBA as its 2012 President.
Christensen has been honored with numerous awards including, the OBA’s Mona S. Lambird Spotlight Award (2006), the Oklahoma County Bar Association’s Professional Service Award (2010), the OBA President’s Award (2008), and the Oklahoma City University School of Law Award for Community Service (2009).
Yet it goes back to family for Christensen. She is incredibly proud of each of her three children. But it was particularly special when the baby she was pregnant with while a law student graduated from OCU LAW in 2011. •
Distinguished Law Alumna
HALL ESTILL
One of Oklahoma’s largest and most trusted law firms, Hall Estill, serves its clients on a regional, national and international stage. With a client-first mentality that provides friendly, attentive client service, more than 140 legal professionals maintain close contact through offices in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Northwest Arkansas and Washington, D.C.
The firm represents clients from Fortune 500 corporations and medium-sized companies, to non-profit organizations, emerging businesses and individuals. Hall Estill attorneys are leaders in their respective fields and in their communities, regularly publishing and lecturing in their areas of expertise, continuing to build on the firm’s reputation of excellence.
Hall Estill is nationally recognized and highly respected for its range of expertise and depth of legal knowledge. Primary areas of practice include: Business Finance and Restructuring, Corporate Services, Energy and Natural Resources, Environmental Services, Family Services, Indian Law, Intellectual Property and Information Technology, Labor and Employment, Litigation, and Tax/Trusts and Estate Planning. •
Law Firm Mark of Distinction
BEAU PATTERSON ’01
Beau Patterson was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago to missionary parents. His family moved six times in 12 years with stops from Florida to Germany. His family finally settled in McAl-ester, Oklahoma, where Patterson graduated from high school.
Patterson graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1994 with degrees in Political Science and English. Upon graduation, he opted for a position as a district manager with a Chicago-based grocery company. During his four years there, the company was involved in a class action lawsuit, which opened his eyes to the pos-sibility of a legal career.
Having spent his formative years in southeastern Oklahoma, Pat-terson saw Oklahoma as his preferred destination. He started classes at OCU LAW in the fall of 1998, graduating summa cum laude in 2001 with the highest GPA in his law school class – a feat he credits entirely to OCU’s outstanding faculty.
Since 2001, Patterson has practiced law with McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City. He became a shareholder of the firm in January 2010. He has also served Oklahoma City’s legal community as a vol-unteer with Oklahoma Lawyers for Children and the Trinity Legal Clinic of Oklahoma.
Though he enjoys the practice of law, the loves of his life are his wife and three daughters. The consummate “girl dad,” Patterson is equally proud of his achievements in the fields of hair braiding, pageant-dress critiquing and the reading of princess-themed bedtime stories. •
Outstanding Young Alumnus
1965RAY POTTS and his wife Pat were honored for 30 years of service to the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, which they founded in 1981. At a special event in November, the Potts’ vision of building better com-munities through effective non-profits was celebrated.
Governor Mary Fallin appointed WILLIAM F. “BILL” SHDEED to the State Board of Education. Shdeed is in private practice in Oklahoma City. He has been a member of the Oklahoma City University Board of Trustees since 1987 and currently serves as Chairman Emeritus, a position he was elected to after more than 10 years as Chairman of the Board.
1967Bishop WILLIAM C. WANTLAND became the Chief Justice of the Seminole Nation Supreme Court. Wantland assumed the position this fall after the Seminole Nation court was reinstated. It had been defunct since Oklahoma became a state in 1907. He is a citizen of the Seminole Nation and a member of the Tusekia Harjo Band of the Nation. He will serve as Chief Justice of the Seminole Nation Supreme Court for a two-year term. Wantland is also a retired Episcopal priest.
1969Justice YVONNE KAUGER was featured in an article in the October issue of Distinctly Oklahoma magazine. Kauger has been a member of the Oklahoma Supreme Court since she was appointed by Governor George Nigh in 1984.
1974WELDON W. STOUT, JR. was elected to the state’s Judicial Nomi-nating Commission. Stout is one of six lawyers on the 15-member commission, which plays a key role in the selection of Oklahoma judges. He will serve a six-year term with the commission. Stout has been in private practice with the Muskogee, Oklahoma firm of Wright, Stout & Wilburn since 1980.
1975GERALD DENNIS is serving a three-year term on the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors representing District No. Two (Antlers). Dennis has practiced law at Dennis & Branam in Antlers since 1975.
1977GLENN A. DEVOLL is serving a three-year term on the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors representing District No. Four (Enid). Devoll is a shareholder with the Enid firm of Gungoll Jackson Collins Box & Devoll, P.C.
KEITH JOHNSON joined Wilkes University as a visiting assistant professor of Sociology. Johnson is currently pursuing his doctorate in public safety.
ROBERT MANCHESTER III received a president’s award at the Oklahoma Bar Association annual meeting last fall. He was honored for his service to veterans and military members through the Oklahoma Lawyers for America’s Heroes program.
Class ActionOCU LAW’s Alumni and Their Accomplishments
Ray Potts Yvonne Kauger Gerald Dennis Steve Korotash Robert N. Sheets
33
1978KRAETTLI Q. EPPERSON had his article, The Real Estate Mortgage Follows the Promissory Note Automatically, Without an Assignment of Mortgage published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Epperson is a partner with Mee Mee Hoge & Epperson in Oklahoma City. He is also an OCU LAW adjunct professor.
STEVE KOROTASH joined K&L Gates as a Partner in their Dallas office. Prior to joining the firm, Korotash spent 30 years working for the federal government with the SEC and the Justice Department.
1979BOB BURKE received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters at OCU’s graduation ceremony in December.
ROBERT N. SHEETS received the Alma Wilson Award from the Oklahoma Bar Association for his contributions to improving the lives of Oklahoma children. Sheets has volunteered with Oklahoma Lawyers for Children since 2003. He also serves as chair of the Oklahoma County Bar Association’s Voices for Children Committee. Sheets is a director, shareholder and founding partner of Phillips Murrah, P.C. in Oklahoma City.
1981BARRY GRISSOM, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, spoke at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in November as part of the Kansas Town Hall program. Grissom has been the Kansas U.S. Attorney since September 2010.
1982WALTER JENNY, JR. published his article, Workers’ Compensation Hearings at the Oklahoma Department of Labor, in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Jenny is Assistant General Counsel at the Oklahoma Depart-ment of Labor, a position he has held since 2007.
NANCY PARROTT was recently sworn in for a three-year term as a Member-at-Large of the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors. Parrott is also in her second three-year term as a director of the Oklahoma County Bar and she is a Benefactor Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation.
T. DOUGLAS STUMP was a featured speaker at the 8th annual Federal Bar Association Immigration Law Seminar. He chaired a track called Nuts and Bolts: Waivers of Inadmissibility and Removal at Con-sular Posts. Stump is also currently serving as the 1st vice-president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
1983GINA L. HENDRYX was honored as one of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s recipients of the 2011 Mona Salyer Lambird Spotlight Award. The OBA describes the award as one given annually to five women who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession and who have lighted the way for other women. Hendryx is currently the general counsel for the OBA and serves as the association’s counsel on other legal matters.
PHIL TUCKER received the Earl Sneed Continuing Legal Education Award at the Oklahoma Bar Association annual meeting in November. Tucker has been presenting and/or publishing materials for continuing legal education programs and scholarly articles for the past 20 years. He is past chair of the OBA Family Law Section and has served as senior co-editor of the section’s Practice Manual since 2002.
1984Governor Mary Fallin appointed CHARLES J. MIGLIORINO to the Associate District Judge post for Johnston County, Oklahoma. Prior to the appointment, Migliorino was with the District Attorney’s Office for the 20th Judicial District, serving as the first assistant for the past 15 years.
1986CATHY CHRISTENSEN took the reins of the Oklahoma Bar Association in January as the 2012 President. Christensen practices in Oklahoma City for the law office Cathy M. Christensen & Associ-ates, P.C. She has been highly involved with the OBA, including as a member of the OBA Family Law Section since 1990 and OBA Women in Law Committee since 1995. She is a Benefactor Fellow of the Okla-homa Bar Foundation and is an OBF Trustee. She served as the OBA Board of Governors liaison to the Oklahoma County Bar Association Board of Directors from 2006-2009. She has received numerous awards for her leadership and community service, including the 2011 Distin-guished Law Alumna award from OCU LAW.
ELIZABETH H. KERR was recognized as one of the Journal Record’s Women of the Year for 2011. Kerr is legal counsel for the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). She has been with UCO since 2008.
1987JULIE MILLER co-authored the article, Children and School Law, published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Miller is general counsel and director of policy services for the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. She is a member and has served as president of the Oklahoma School Boards Attorneys Association.
1989SHANNON DAVIES published her first book, Hunting License, in 2011. Davies is a founding partner of Lester, Loving & Davies where she continues to practice law.
1990CARY PIRRONG returned to Oklahoma City University in August as the Director of Alumni Relations in the University Advancement & External Relations Office. Prior to this position, Pirrong worked as an appellate defense attorney in the Capital Post-Conviction Division of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (OIDS).
1991Continental Resources, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas explora-tion and production company, named JEFF CLOUD vice president for natural gas. Previously, Cloud was with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. He was first elected to the commission in 2002. Prior to his departure from the Corporation Commission, Cloud testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works about how Oklahoma is regulating hydraulic fracturing.
1993E. SCOTT HENLEY has been certified as a mediator and trainer through the Early Settlement Mediation program. The program aims to provide Oklahomans with convenient access to fair, effective, inexpen-sive, and expeditious dispute resolution proceedings.
DANA MURPHY was elected secretary/treasurer of the Southwest Power Pool’s Regional State Committee. The committee provides input on matters related to the development and operation of bulk electric transmission on behalf of regulatory commissioners in Arkansas, Kan-sas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Murphy also went to Washington, D.C. in November to appear before the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. The committee was seeking input into potential new regulations by the En-vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) on hydraulic fracturing and the wastewater that is produced during the process. Murphy testified along with regulators from Ohio and Pennsylvania.
1994ERIC L. JOHNSON was elected to the governing committee of the Conference on Consumer Finance Law (CCFL). As a member of the CCFL Governing Committee, he will establish policy and direct the activities of the organization. CCFL offers educational services, publi-cations and research relating to consumer financial services law.
Johnson also presented at the 2011 Commercial Law Update, a two-day continuing legal education seminar held in Oklahoma City last Decem-ber. He is a shareholder in the Business Department and a member of the Commercial and Consumer Financial Services practice group for the Oklahoma City firm of Phillips Murrah P.C.
Governor Mary Fallin appointed JIM ROTH to serve on the state Elec-tion Board. The board oversees the state’s 77 county election boards. He will serve a four-year term. Roth is an attorney with Phillips Murrah, P.C. He is a member of the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources practice group and Chair of the Alternative “Green” Energy Practice group.
1996LOREN M. LAMPERT was appointed Chief of Police of Alexan-dria, Louisiana after serving several months in an interim capacity. He is a former police officer who spent nearly 15 years with the Rapides Parish District Attorney’s Office before being asked to lead the police department.
NOEL TUCKER received the Earl Sneed Continuing Legal Educa-tion award at the Oklahoma Bar Association’s annual meeting in November. Tucker serves on the ABA Family Law Section Council and is past chair of the OBA Family Law Section. She volunteers her services for Trinity Legal Clinic and Legal Aid of Western Okla-homa. Tucker is a member of the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association and served as president of the Oklahoma CASA executive board from 2002-2003.
Tucker also had her article, Child Preference: When, How and Why it Should be Considered, published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal.
MIKE VOGT was appointed by the Grantwood Village, Missouri Board of Trustees to fill the prosecuting attorney position. Vogt prac-tices law with the firm Vogt and Howard.
Cathy Christensen Jeff Cloud Jennifer Kirkpatrick Todd Lamb Glenn A. Devoll35
1997KERI COLEMAN PRINCE was recognized as one of the Journal Re-cord’s 2011 50 Women Making a Difference. Prince is general counsel for Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc., a position she has held since 2003.
1998JERRY HERBERGER was sworn in as Stephens County, Oklahoma special district judge. Herberger is a former assistant district attorney for District Six, which serves Stephens, Caddo, Grady and Jefferson counties.
2000RAYMUND C. KING, MD, JD, FICS, became a member of the Parker University Board of Trustees.
2002JENNIFER KIRKPATRICK will serve as the 2012 Chairperson for the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Oklahoma Bar Association. Kirkpatrick is an attorney in the Oklahoma City office of Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden & Nelson PC.
GREG METCALFE joined the firm of GableGotwals and will focus on commercial litigation and the provision of legal services to govern-ment agencies. Prior to joining the firm, Metcalfe was an Assistant Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma.
2004ROBERT FAULK was elected a 2012 At-Large Director for the OBA’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD). Faulk is the managing member of Faulk Law Firm PLLC and practices in the areas of criminal defense, general civil litigation, family law, personal injury, workers’ compensa-tion, custody and divorce. He has been a member of the OBA YLD Board of Directors since 2006.
Assistant Attorney General MYKEL FRY is leading the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control unit. The unit investigates and pros-ecutes Medicaid fraud across the state. Fry has been with the Attorney General’s office since 2009. Prior to that, she was an assistant district attorney with Oklahoma County.
BRANDON LONG joined Alston + Bird in Washington, D.C. as a senior associate in the firm’s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensa-tion Group. Previously, he was an attorney with McAfee & Taft.
JERRY D. NOBLIN, JR. joined the Oklahoma City firm of Tomlinson, Rust, McKinstry & Grable as an associate. His practice will encompass civil litigation including contract and business disputes, product liability, insurance law, employment law, maritime law, plaintiff ’s personal injury and appellate work. Prior to entering private practice, Noblin worked for a global business and residential telecommunications company.
Republican caucus members elected Rep. T.W. SHANNON Okla-homa House Speaker-designate. The full house will not officially elect the speaker until January 2013. Shannon represents District 62 (Lawton) and is a member of the A&B General Government & Transportation, Energy and Utility Regulation and Higher Education and Career Tech committees. Additionally, he is the chairman of the House Transportation Committee.
2005Oklahoma Lt. Governor TODD LAMB has been elected to serve on the Red Earth Board of Directors. Red Earth, Inc. is a non-profit orga-nization that promotes the rich traditions of American Indian arts and cultures. The Board of Directors oversees the Red Earth Museum and Gallery in Oklahoma City, as well as the annual Red Earth Festival.
Lamb was sworn in as Oklahoma’s Lt. Governor in January 2011. He is the Treasurer of the National Lieutenant Governor’s Associa-tion Executive Committee and Vice-Chair of the Aerospace States Association. Previously, Lamb was in the Oklahoma Senate, a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, and worked in Governor Frank Keating’s administration.
DALEN D. MCVAY had his article, Veterans Administration Benefits: A General Practitioner’s Guide to Aid and Attendance Pension, published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. McVay is an attorney with Ewbank Hen-nigh & McVay, PLLC in Enid, Oklahoma.
JENNIFER S. JONES joined First American Title & Trust Co. in Oklahoma City as underwriting counsel. Jones was previously in private practice.
2006LEANNE MCGILL will serve as 2012 Secretary for the OBA’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD). McGill is a partner with McGill & Rodgers where her practice focuses on all areas of family law. She has been active in YLD since 2006 and is currently serving her second term as a director for District Three.
JESSICA SHERRILL published her article, The Basics of Unemploy-ment, in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Sherrill also co-authored another article for the Oklahoma Bar Journal titled Children and School Law.Sherrill currently serves as staff attorney for Oklahoma State School Boards Association and the director of the Oklahoma Public Schools Unemployment Compensation Account.
MATT STUMP spoke at the American Immigration Lawyers Associa-tion annual conference on the topic of green card fundamentals. Stump practices at Stump & Associates in Oklahoma City and specializes in immigration law.
37
2007LEAH AVEY published her article, Keys to Oklahoma’s Workers’ Compen-sation Retaliation Claim, in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Avey is an associ-ate with the Edmond, Oklahoma firm of Rubenstein & Pitts PLLC.
NATHAN RICHTER was elected 2012 At-Large Rural Director for the OBA’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD). Richter is a trial lawyer for the Denton Law Firm in Mustang, Oklahoma. He is also the vice president of the Canadian County Bar Association.
2008DANIEL STRINGER joined Mee Mee Hoge & Epperson in Okla-homa City as an associate. Prior to joining the firm, Stringer worked in the private engineering field.
COLLIN R. WALKE joined the Oklahoma City firm of Kirk & Chaney as an associate. Walke’s practice will focus on family law and insurance defense.
2009CHELSEA M. BALDWIN had her article, Serving Those Who Serve, published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Baldwin is the Assistant Direc-tor for OCU LAW’s Department of Academic Achievement.
JAKE G. PIPINICH joined Holden & Carr as an associate. Before joining the firm, Pipinich worked as an attorney representing plaintiffs in personal injury actions including mass-torts and defective products liability litigation.
SARAH C. STEWART joined the Senior Law Resource Center Inc. as senior managing attorney. She will focus on probates, estate planning, guardianships and other elder law issues. Previously, Stewart was an attorney at McLendon, Duden & Sasser, P.C.
2010JOSHUA M. SNAVELY was appointed to the Oklahoma Justice Com-mission. The Commission was established in September 2010 to raise awareness of the issues surrounding wrongful convictions. He is also
currently serving as the Interim Assistant Dean of Advancement and Career Services.
2011ELIZABETH BOWERSOX joined McAfee & Taft in Oklahoma City as an associate. Her practice is focused on labor and employment law.
MICHELLE BRIGGS joined the Oklahoma City office of Dunlap Codding as an associate. Briggs’ focus in her practice will include trade-marks, copyrights and entertainment and Internet law.
ZACHARY J. FOSTER joined the firm of Helms, Underwood & Cook as an associate.
LYSBETH L. GEORGE joined Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City as an associate. Her areas of practice are banking & financial institu-tions, bankruptcy & creditor’s rights, and litigation & trial practice.
MICHAEL HATFIELD joined the Oklahoma City firm of Tomlin-son, Rust, McKinstry & Grable as an associate in the firm’s litigation area. His areas of expertise are complex business litigation and products liability litigation.
BLAKE LAWRENCE joined Hall Estill in Oklahoma City as an associate focusing on business litigation and transactional practice. Lawrence also accepted an offer from Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly to publish his article, The First Amendment in the Multicul-tural Climate of Colleges and Universities: A Story Ending with Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, in their fall 2012 edition.
LEWIS T. LENAIRE joined GableGotwals’ Oklahoma City office as an associate. His practice consists of complex business litigation in both state and federal courts.
KYLE P. ROGERS joined the Tulsa firm of Rhodes, Hieronymus, Jones, Tucker and Gable as an associate. His practice will include civil litigation and appellate practice.
CHELSEA CELSOR SMITH joined Andrew Davis as an associate. She started with the firm in 2010 as a clerk.
Gina Hendryx LeAnne McGill Noel Tucker Chelsea Baldwin Joshua Snavely
NAOMI D. SMITH joined the Oklahoma City firm of Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville as an associate. She will be practicing in the areas of commercial law, business, asset protection, tax controversies, and estate planning.
ANTHONY VAN ECK joined Bass Law’s Oklahoma City office. His practice focuses on trusts and estates, insurance and business law.
TYNIA WATSON joined Crowe & Dunlevy as an associate focusing on intellectual property and general litigation.
KELLY WILBUR joined the Oklahoma City firm of Tomlinson, Rust, McKinstry & Grable as an associate. Her practice will focus on intellectual property.
IN MEMORIAM
1951WARREN O. ROMBERGER
1957BOB RUDKIN
1962JUDGE STEWART MCCALLUM HUNTER
1963BOB HENDRICK
1964DAVID NEAL FOX
1968JOE W. DAVIS
1970ARTHUR B. STEVENER, JR.
1971PAUL M. FISTER
1977STEPHEN G. SOLOMON
1990FREDA JANE CROSS
KENNETH LINN
1994LYNNE WITT DRAWDY
Dean STUART BERT STRASNER, SR. died May 7, 2011 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Born in Oklahoma in May 1929, Strasner graduat-ed from Panhandle State University and received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma. During his career, he was a member of the U.S. Army JAG Corps and executive director of the Oklahoma Bar Association from 1978-1981. He was in private practice when he was selected to lead OCU LAW in July 1984. Among his goals as dean, he aimed to increase faculty salaries, secure additional scholarship funds and work toward membership in the Association of American Law Schools. In his first year as dean, OCU LAW received its first gift from the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation as described in Oklahoma City University School of Law A History:
IN MEMORIAMDean Stuart Bert Strasner, Sr.
Dean Strasner is surrounded by the first OCU LAW Hatton Sumners Foundation Scholars.
39
DID YOU KNOW
Beginning with the class of ’08, more
than a dozen couples met while attending
OCU LAW and have since been married?
Professor Alvin Harrell has been at OCU
LAW since 1974, longer than any other
current faculty member?
OCU LAW alumnus Bob Burke ‘79 is
the author of more historical non-fiction
books than anyone in history?
“In 1985, the Hatton W. Sumners Foundation of Dallas, Texas, pledged $125,000 annually for three years for scholarship support. OCU was the only law school outside of Texas to receive grants from the foundation.
A major part of the initial Sumners gift was used to equip a computer center for legal education, believed to be the first such computer operation at any law school in the state.
However, the primary use of the Sumners Foundation gift was the establishment of honor scholarships for a select group of students each year. It was a new day for the scholarship program at OCU. Never before had funds been available to cover the full cost of law school. Sumners Scholars received full tuition, all fees, a book allowance, and a living allowance. OCU School of Law now had a new tool to use in the competition to recruit top prospects.”
Strasner reentered the banking and oil and gas business upon his resignation as dean in 1991.
Dean Strasner was 81. •
Barbara and her father, Alan, at the OCU LAW May 2012 Hoodingand Commencement Ceremony.
Adam and his father, John, at the May 2012 OCU LAW Hooding and Commencement Ceremony.
Adam and his father, John, and Barbara and her father, Alan, together in the OCU LAW Library.
Adam and his father, John Kline, stand near John’s law school composite.
Barbara with her father, Alan Stacy, at Alan’s OCU LAW graduation ceremony.
41
Torts. That’s what a five-year-old Barbara Kline remembers her dad coming home from law school and reading to her. Not nursery rhymes. Not fairytales. But, torts.
“My first year, I remember a case or two that my dad read to me as a kid,” Barbara recalls.
Years later, sitting in a restaurant in Norman discussing the possibility of applying to graduate programs, Barbara announced that she wanted to take the LSAT and go to law school. Something she knew she had wanted to do for as long as she could remember.
“It wasn’t a huge surprise when she mentioned law school,” her hus-band Adam said.
He, on the other hand, was on the fence about the whole idea. Not her going, but him. “If I hadn’t been married to Barbara, I don’t know that I would have gone to law school.”
“I was already very proud of both of them,” Barbara’s dad Alan Stacy said. “They are great and hard working people. And as petroleum engi-neers, they already have an excellent educational foundation.”
Like many that have gone before them, Barbara and Adam Kline are part-time law students and full-time employees. Both are reservoir engi-neers – he works for Devon and she works for Canaan Resources.
“Law school has made me a better engineer. It was unexpected. I thought I would learn a whole new skill set and what I learned was a whole new way to think,” Adam said.
When it came to deciding where to go to law school, there was never a question.
“Being familiar with OCU LAW and knowing you can get a good education while continuing to work” are reasons Barbara knew it was the right choice for them. “That, and my dad went here.”
OCU LAW runs in the family. Both of their fathers attended law school at OCU in the 80’s. Both worked fulltime. And both had families.
“It takes a team effort by all members of the family,” said Barbara’s dad.
“It became a way of life to which we adapted,” said Adam’s father, John Kline, whose wife was also attending OCU as an undergrad at the time.
No one knows that better than their children, who are married to each other’s study buddy.
“When it comes to studying, our classmates are often away from their spouses and kids. We are sitting across the table from each other. You know that you have someone who is experiencing the same torture of law school,” Adam says with a laugh.
The husband and wife law school duo have a built-in support network– in each other and their fathers who paved the way at OCU LAW.
“First day, first class was contracts. Both our dads’ pictures were on the walls in that class.”
Some 20 years after first hearing tort tales, Barbara’s law school days have come to an end. She and Adam finished with joint JD/MBA degrees in May 2012 and their dogs are relishing more time with them both. They reflect fondly on their four years at OCU LAW – good friends, wonderful professors (a few their fathers had for class, too), a quality legal education, and family.
“I have a new found respect for my dad,” says Adam.
Reaffirming the old adage that the apple (or in this case, apples) doesn’t fall far from the tree. •
Brook Arbeitman
All in the Family
Why I Give: Hiram Sasser ’02
“Law school was some of the best years of
my life... It was a very special time in my
life and a special place.”
Hiram Sasser initially wanted a law degree because he thought it could come in handy for what he anticipated would be a career in the U.S. Army.
But his long-term plans changed after he entered Oklahoma City Uni-versity School of Law. Sasser discovered that he thrived amid the intel-lectual challenges of the classroom. He began to consider the future as an attorney, a possibility that became clearer after a serious back injury precluded pursuing the military.
Now the 2002 OCU LAW graduate is the director of litigation for the Liberty Institute, a nonprofit organization committed to protecting religious liberties and strengthening families.
The institute is based in Plano, Texas, but Sasser is never far from OCU LAW in spirit. As a generous donor to his alma mater, Sasser says he wants to do what he can to help ensure that future generations of OCU LAW students have the same rewarding experience he had.
“Law school was some of the best years of my life,” says the 36-year-old Sasser. “It was a very special time in my life and a special place.”
Perhaps more important, he credits OCU LAW with preparing him for the nuts and bolts of the legal profession in a way that eludes graduates of many other law schools.
“I felt like I came out of law school knowing how to do things – not how to do everything, obviously, but coming out of law school, I knew how to do some things pretty good,” says the Oklahoma City native.
“I was taught literally how to be a lawyer, rather that just receiving a legal education. I was taught how to function as a lawyer: how to work hard, how to think through the issues, how to be scrappy.”
For Sasser, OCU LAW also represents a community that transcends ideological divides.
“At OCU, I feel like the school is interested in promoting meritorious accomplishment,” he says.
“No matter what ideological position a person happens to be practicing law from, the law school is interested in pushing and promoting people for accomplishment. I don’t mean it’s ideologically blind, but it’s some-thing akin to that and more focused on merit.”
Sasser is not alone in his loyalty and generosity. Donations from alumni play a critical role in the continued success of OCU LAW.
For more on how to give back or get involved, visit law.okcu.eduor call 405.208.5381. •
It is with tremendous gratitude that
we recognize all of our donors for their
support over the past year. It is be-
cause of the generosity of the following
alumni, friends, faculty and staff, law
firms, corporations and foundations,
OCU LAW continues to provide the
hands-on, quality education our stu-
dents receive today, which makes them
great attorneys and leaders tomorrow.
Thank you for your continued support
of OCU LAW.43
It is with tremendous gratitude that we rec-
ognize all of our donors for their support in
2011. It is because of the generosity of the
following alumni, friends, faculty and staff,
law firms, corporations and foundations,
that OCU LAW continues to provide the
hands-on, quality education our students
receive today, which makes them great at-
torneys and leaders tomorrow. Thank you
for your continued support of OCU LAW.
Thank You.
2011 Honor Roll of Donors
FOUNDERS’ SOCIETY
Sustainer
Mr. & Mrs. Ray H. Potts ’65
Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Inc.Inasmuch Foundation
Innovator
Benefactor
Mr. Bob Burke ’79Crowe & Dunlevy Foundation, Inc.
Ford FoundationMr. Herman Meinders
DEAN’S CIRCLE
Platinum
Clyde Evans Charitable TrustDean Emeritus & Mrs. Lawrence K. Hellman
Mr. & Mrs. J. Clifford HudsonIntegris Health, Inc.
Mr. Jason & Mrs. Carly Maderer ’10Mr. George R. Milner, III ’92
Oklahoma Bar FoundationDr. & Mrs. R. Cullen Thomas, Jr. ’99
Gold
Mr. & Mrs. Jerry B. BendorfMs. Martha Ann Burger
Mr. & Mrs. J. William CongerMr. David Brian Donchin
Dr. Emmanuel E. Edem ’82First Eagle Leasing, LLC
Mr. & Mrs. Joe R. Homsey, Jr. ’73The Honorable Niles L. Jackson ’75
Jewish Communal FundNaifeh Realty Company, Inc.
Oklahoma City ThunderMr. David E. Pepper ’75SandRidge Energy, Inc.
Simmons Charitable FoundationMr. & Mrs. Barry L. Switzer
Ms. Jean M. Warren
Silver
Mr. Todd AdcockAmerican Fidelity Foundation
BancFirstDr. & Mrs. Amy L. Bankhead ’00
The Honorable Deborah & Mr. Ron Barnes ’83Mr. & Mrs. James C. Bass ’66
Mr. & Mrs. Vicki Zemp Behenna ’84Mr. & Mrs. Irven R. Box ’69
Dr. Jay P. CannonMr. & Mrs. Randall D. Cooley
Ms. Ken Sue Doerfel ’77Fellers Snider Blankenship Bailey & Tippens, P.C.
Mr. Benjamin Carl Green ’98The Honorable Carol M. Hansen ’74
The Harroz Family 63rd Street PartnershipMr. & Mrs. Gary B. Homsey ’74
Mr. & Mrs. Michael S. Homsey ’76Ms. Luwana John
The Kerry Foundation, Inc.Professor Art G. LeFrancois
Mr. & Mrs. Tom J. McDanielMr. John V. McShane
Mercy OklahomaMr. & Mrs. Robert K. Miles
Moore & Vernier, P.C.Mr. & Mrs. Melvin R. Moran
Oklahoma Bar AssociationMs. Keri Coleman Prince ’97
Quail Creek Golf & Country ClubMr. H.E. Rainbolt
Mr. & Mrs. Ralph A. Sallusti ’74Mr. Tom SeymourSeymour Law Firm
Dr. Jeanne Hoffman SmithSonic Corporation
Mr. & Mrs. Mark Wood
Silver continued
Bronze
Mr. David G. Aelvoet ’93Mrs. Susan A. Arnold ’74
Mr. Robert Jacob Barron ’99Bass Law Firm, PC
The Honorable Arnold Stanley Battise ’71Mr. David O. Beal ’74Mr. Joel D. Bieber ’86
Mr. William Doug Buckles ’79Mr. Randall Keith Calvert ’90
Mrs. Cynthia Leigh Carroll-Bridges ’99The Chickasaw Nation
Mr. George Al CohlmiaConner & Winters
Mrs. Linda J. Cook ’03Ms. Christina Melton Crain ’91
Mr. & Mrs. M. Joe Crosthwait, Jr. ’74Culley Conservation Group LLC
Andrews Davis, P.C.
45
Bronze continued
Ms. Patricia R. Demps ’79Mr. Timothy Eugene Foley ’92
Mr. Samuel R. Fulkerson &Mrs. Suzanne Mitchell
Professor Michael T. GibsonMr. Harry H. Goldman ’77
Ms. Lydia Y. Green ’03Mr. Meredith E. Hardgrave ’58
Mr. Bruce E. HarrozThe Honorable Ronald Lloyd Howland ’64
Mr. John C. HudsonMr. C. Alan Kennington ’96
Mr. Michael Andre Krywucki ’91Ms. Melissa D. Lee
The Honorable Richard C. Lerblance ’78M & S Realty, LLC
Mr. Donald W. MacPherson ’78Mr. Daniel Pines Markoff ’92
Mrs. Rozia M. McKinney-Foster ’81Ms. Jean E. McLaughlin
The Honorable Gordon MelsonMs. Nikki Presley Miliband ’90James R. Moore and Associates
Mordy & Mordy, P.C. Professor Daniel J. Morgan
Mr. Robert N. Naifeh, Jr. ’83Mr. & Mrs. Ben ShankerMr. James R. Tolbert, III
Mr. Anthony W. & Mrs. Denise C. Villani ’83 Mr. John M. Yoeckel
Mrs. Sheryl Newberry Young ’90
AdvocateDr. Steven C. Agee
B.C. Clark Jewelers, Inc.Mr. Mark Barrett
The Honorable Candace L. Blalock ’76Mr. Dennis R. Box ’78
Mr. Brian A. Buswell ’06Mr. Rodney D. Caffey ’02
Mr. Richard Allen Campbell ’85Ms. Cathy M. Christensen ’86Conklin Family Foundation
Advocate continued
Mrs. Laura J. Corbin ’96Mr. Steven A. DonchinDean Deborah R. Felice
Fidelity Charitable Gift FundMs. & Mrs. Barry GolsenMr. & Mrs. John Greiner
Hall, Estill, Hardwick, Gable, Golden Nelson P.C.
Mr. Robert A. Hammeke’99Mrs. Rose Henderson
Mr. Philip D. Hixon ’01Mr. John George Hondros ’71
Ms. Tina A. Hughes ’90Mr. Thomas M. Jones ’76Ms. Linda Petree Lambert
Mr. A. Gary LavertyMrs. Janet E. Marion
Mr. Kenneth N. McKinneyMr. & Mrs. Adam E. Miller ’06
Mrs. Ellen MorganMs. Angela R. Morrison ’90
Mr. Donald B. NevardOklahoma City ABLMrs. Nina J. Packman
Mr. Christopher C. Papin ’08Mr. George Edwin Proctor, Jr. ’76
Mrs. Pamela K. RayMs. Deborah A. Rehard
Mrs. Carol G. ReznikMs. Edie Roodman
Mr. James T. Rowan, Jr.Mrs. Gina D. Rowsam
Ms. Margaret SalyerMr. Hiram Stanley Sasser, III ’02
Mr. Flavious J. Smith, Jr. ’84Mr. Joshua Michael Snavely ’10
Mr. Irwin H. SteinhornDr. & Mrs. Jim Stewart
Stone LegendsDr. Stephan J. Sweitzer
Mr. Emmit TayloeMr. F. William Thetford ’78
United Way of Central New MexicoMs. Allyson Vistica ’07
Reverend William Charles Wantland ’64Mr. & Mrs. Vialo Weis, Jr. ’06
Westshore Corporation
Associate
Mr. Anthony J. Addeo, III ’84Mrs. Katherine Smith Addleman ’86
Mrs. Christin V. Adkins ’98Mr. Victor F. Albert ’87
Mr. R. Daniel Alcorn, Jr. ’75Mr. William C. Anderson
Ms. Joni L. AutreyLt. Colonel Joe D. Baker, II ’93
Mr. Donald E. Balaban ’62Ms. Sherry K. Barton
Mr. Hamden Holloway Baskin, III ’82The Reverend Dr. Stanley L. Basler
Mr. Mark H. Bennett ’90President Andrew K. Benton ’79
Mr. Stephen M. Booth ’74Mr. Rick Bragga ’86
Ms. Kathryn Sue BroadMr. Michael C. Brown ’73
Mr. Jack G. Bush ’59Mrs. Vickey Jean Cannady
Mr. Earnest C. Cash ’74Mr. Colin A. Colgan ’07Mr. Richard V. Conza ’77
Mr. Jackie R. CooperProfessor Richard E. Coulson ’68
Professor Von Russell CreelMs. Avery Naomi Crossman ’93
Mr. Kevin F. Crowe ’78Mr. Michael L. Decker ’78
Mr. Stephen E. DiNovis ’78Professor Karen Eby
Edgewater Resources LLCMr. Joe E. Edwards ’74
EnCana Cares FoundationEthics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
Mr. Dallas E. FergusonThe Honorable John F. FisherMr. Charles Edward Gale ’98
Mr. Pete Gelvin ’79Mrs. Tynan D. Grayson ’05Mr. Barry R. Grissom ’81
Mr. Larry M. Haag ’73Mrs. Mary Lou Hadwiger
Professor Alvin C. Harrell ’72Ms. Marla R. Harrington ’90
Mrs. Linda M. Harris ’79
FRIENDS
Mr. Warren Bernard Alarkon ’09Mr. Ethan B. Allen, III ’81
Ms. Robyn Rehab Assaf ’92Baird Foundation, Inc.
Ms. Chelsea Michelle Baldwin ’09Mr. Raymond E. Bays ’78
Ms. Janet F. Beard ’84Mr. John Weston Billingsley ’99
Mrs. Audrey D. Blank ’00Mr. Michael W. Blevins ’72
Ms. Debra Susan BolesThe Honorable Rick M. Bozarth ’76
Mr. George M. Bradley ’75Mr. Brett W. Butner ’11
Ms. Nancy S. CainMr. Joe Berry Cannon ’64Mr. Brandon M. Carey ’05
Mrs. Debbie Carpenter
Associate continued
Mrs. Keegan Kelly Harroz ’10Mr. Hal L. Hefner ’76
Mr. Christopher J. Heinhold ’96Mr. Ulf R. Heller ’77
Mr. Charles L. Helm ’78Mr. John N. Hermes
Mr. David R. High ’78Mr. Cary E. Hiltgen ’81Mr. Brian W. Hobbs ’03
The Honorable William J. Holloway, Jr.Mr. Curtis L. Horrall ’57
Mr. Charles L. Hunnicutt ’64Mr. Brian Huseman ’97
Mr. Allen Lemarr Hutson ’10Mr. James A. Hyde ’73
Mr. Howard F. Israel ’76Mr. R. Lee Ivy ’89
JBPS, LLCColonel Athena R. Jones ’79
Jones LawMr. Ted Kavrukov ’77Mr. John A. KenneyMrs. Sharon KnightMs. Ai Kuroda ’06
Mr. Jim D. Kutch ’69Lange and Lange
Mr. Timothy M. Larason ’68Mrs. Dana Char Lee Laverty ’84
Mr. Mark A. Lester ’04Mr. Robert L. Lewis ’68
Little Little Little Windel Oliver Landgraf& Gallagher PLLC
Mr. & Mrs. Mack K. Martin ’78Mr. Michael Richard Matthews ’08
Mr. Kenneth Paul McDaniel ’92McDivitt & Casey P.C.Mr. Shane McLaury ’79
Mrs. Joyce Ann Michael ’92Mr. Michael C. Mordy ’80
The Honorable Eleanor Terry Moser ‘’7Mrs. Ashley A. Murphy ’05Mr. Charles D. Neal, Jr. ’75
Mr. A David Necco ’65Mr. Robert Tan Nguyen ’01
Mr. Arnaud Chuong Pham ’96Mr. Herman Craig Pitts ’94
Mr. Ross A. Plourde ’82Mr. Richard C. ReniersMr. G. Neal Rogers ’80
Dr. Karen RossDr. Carl Rubenstein
Mr. Dennis L. Schaefer ’75Mr. Stuart R. Schroeder ’76
Mr. Jeffrey Blake Scoggins ’05Mr. John T. Severe ’78
The Honorable Stephanie K. SeymourMr. Charles E. Snyder ’82
Mrs. Cynthia L. Sparling ’78Mr. Barry G. Stafford ’76
Stevens & Berger LLCMajor (Ret.) Robert C. Stillwell ’93
Mrs. Phyllis J. StoughMrs. Regan G. Strickland Beatty ’04
Mrs. Elizabeth StroupMr. Robert J. Strunin ’73
Ms. Eileen Marie Sweeney ’03Mr. Henry Trattner ’70
Mr. Louis F. TrostMs. Elaine R. Turner ’89
Mr. & Mrs. Vernon VollertsenMr. David A. Walls ’87
Mr. Mark Eric Wewers ’94Mr. Larry Stanton Wiese ’95
Mr. Jim G. Wilcoxen ’79The Honorable J. Andrew Williams ’77
Mrs. Alisha Wilson ’10Mr. Bruce V. Winston ’73
Mr. Richard D. Winzeler ’65Dr. Michael Allan Wolf
The Honorable Paul K. Woodward ’84Mr. Carl Wendell Young ’74
Associate continued
Member
Member continued
Mr. Larry G. Cassil ’64Mr. Joseph D. Chiaf ’83
Ms. Melanie K. Christians ’09Mr. Woodrow W. Colbert ’02Mrs. Amie R. Colclazier ’90Mr. Jerry L. Colclazier ’90
Mrs. Vickie Leigh Cook ’86Mr. William R. Corum ’77
Mr. Ronald A. Dall ’63Mr. Gregory John Debski ’94
Mrs. Gayla J. DeguistiMr. Jason A. Duff ’07Mr. Matt Echols ’05
Mr. Stephen R. Eck ’08Mr. Warren R. Ehn ’86
Mr. Evan S. Farrington, III ’98Mr. Robert R. Faulk ’04
Mr. Leonard N. Feuerheim ’94Mrs. Carey Elisa Galusha ’02
Mr. Aaron Gardner ’09Mr. Timothy Harry Gatton ’10
Mrs. Carey Elizabeth Geesbreght ’98Mr. Edward A. Goldman ’71Mr. Alden Lee Griesbach ’95
Dr. Scott GronlundThe Honorable Barbara P. Hatfield ’84
Mr. Jeffrey Hay ’84Mr. Donald L. Hoeft ’76
Mr. William F. HoehnMr. Glede Wilson Holman ’01
Mrs. Teresa M. HolmanSenator David Fuller Holt ’09
Dr. Bambi A. Hora ’98Mrs. Susan M. Howard ’94
Ms. Carrie S. Hulett ’78Mr. Joseph P. James ’94Mr. Terry J. Jenks ’84
The Honorable Yvonne Kauger ’69Mr. Robert T. Kemps ’77Mr. John Frank Kline ’88
Mr. Paul Antonio Lacy ’80Mr. Don J. Leeman ’71Ms. Jana K. Legako ’06
Mr. Mark Wilson Malone ’02Ms. Kristina Suzanne Marek ’82
Mr. Robert C. Margo ’74Jay F. McCown, P.C.
Mr. Thomas McCoy ’70Senator Billy A. Mickle ’74
Mr. Rubin B. Millerborg, Jr. ’70Mr. Fred S. Morgan ’80
47
Mrs. Christina E. Murray ’01Mr. Kenneth A. Nash ’56Mr. Michael W. Neely ’79
Catherine T. O’Connell ’81Professor Michael Patrick O’Shea
Ms. Ann Dee Overstreet ’08Mr. William C. Page ’56
Mr. Daniel Francis Palazzo ’96Ms. Nancy S. Parrott ’82
Mr. George W. Paull, Jr. ’77Mrs. Summer Lee Pedersen ’03
Ms. Kathryn Austin Pendarvis ’90Mrs. Elizabeth G. Perrow ’98Mr. William N. Peterson ’75Mrs. Patricia A. Podolec ’06
Mr. Graham Potter ’09Mr. Michael E. Reel ’11Mrs. Linda C. Resnick
Ms. Cindy Lou Richard ’92Ms. Kendra Robben ’07Mr. Jahn D. Rohrer ’76
Mr. Kent Ryals ’73Mr. Roland Philip Schafer ’06
Mr. Dennis A. Smith ’86Ms. Kara Ianne Smith ’02Mr. Travis Dean Smith ’09
Mrs. Kelly Murphy Spurrier ’00Stamper & Perrin, PLLC
The Honorable Reta M. Strubhar ’81Ms. Milissa R. Tipton-Dunkins ’03Mr. Victor Franz Trautmann, III ’95
Mr. Earle D. Wagner ’70Mr. Gary Lee Waite ’80
Mr. William Richard WakehamMrs. Lori M. Walke ’09
Ms. Kathleen Wendlocher Wallace ’08Mr. Ryan Thomas Webster ’08
Mrs. Jackie B. WeekleyMrs. Shannon C. Weis ’05
Ms. Jane F. Wheeler ’77Mr. Joe B. Wheeler, Jr. ’67
Ms. Patty Ann Whitecotton ’76Mrs. Zona G. Whittaker ’87Mr. Paul Scott Williams ’84
Mrs. Keri G Williams Foster ’00Dr. Eunice Raye Winberly ’01Dr. Jan George Womack ’85 •
Member continuedWhether making a gift to the OCU LAW Fund,
becoming a member of the Founders’ Society or
donating to a special project, every gift – large or
small – is critical to our continued success. You can
go online to law.okcu.edu and click on GIVING to
find out more or to make your gift today.
FOUNDERS’ SOCEITYLegacy
$1,000,000 or more
Visionary$500,000 - $999,999
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$500 - $999
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Gift Giving Levels
DECEMBER 17, 2011
OCU LAW celebrates the holidays with alumni, faculty and staff at the annual Dean’s Holiday Reception. The reception was held at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation and was a festive way to kick off the holiday season.
Photos by: Brook Arbeitman
Dean’s Holiday Reception
OCU Professor Greg Eddington and his wife Christine join Professor Emma Rollsand Law Library Director Lee Peoples at the Dean’s Holiday Reception.
Beau Patterson ‘01 and his wife Stacey.
Ralph A. Sallusti ‘74 and his wife Sandra.
Amicus Universitas
December Graduation
DECEMBER 17, 2011
OCU LAW congratulates the twenty-seven December 2011 graduates for their accomplishments. Fellow alumna, Cathy Chris-tensen ’86, OBA President-elect, was the commencement speaker. She encouraged the graduates to be an example of everything good and honorable about the legal profession.
Photos by: Ann Sherman
OCU President Robert Henry (center), OCU LAW Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Eric T. Laity (left) and Cathy Christensen ‘86 (right) and the December 2011 graduates of OCU LAW.
Charles Newton Clarke led the Benediction at the December 2011 graduation ceremony.
OCU LAW Distinguished Lecturer in Law and General Counsel Bill Conger and Cathy Christensen ‘86.
Kate Thompson ‘11 is hooded by her cousin, Charles C. Weddle, III ‘00. 49
NOVEMBER 2, 2011
OCU LAW honored alums for their contributions to the legal profession at the Alumni & Friends Luncheon in conjunction with the annual OBA meeting in Tulsa. This year’s honorees were the Hon. Niles Jackson ’75, Cathy Christensen ’86, Beau Patterson ’01 and the firm of Hall Estill. Paige Masters ’12 was also recognized as the receipient of the Oklahoma City University Outstanding Law School Senior Student Award.
Photos by: Ann Sherman
Alumni & Friends LuncheonOklahoma Bar Association
Professor Dan Morgan and his daughter, OCU LAW alumna, Sarah Balbas ’01.
Cathy Christensen ’86, recipient of the Distinguished Law Alumna award, is joined by Sarah J. Schumacher (left) and her son, Adam ’11 (right).
The Hon. Niles Jackson ’75, (2nd from left), the 2011 recipient of the Marian P. Opala Award for Lifetime Achievement in Law is surrounded by (from left to right) by Margaret Dixon, Judge Bryan Dixon and Judge Jackson’s wife, Barbara Thornton.
Paige Masters ’12 and 2011 OBA President Deborah Reheard.
OCU LAW alums Emmanuel Edem ‘82 and OBA General Counsel Gina L. Hendryx ‘83.
Beau Patterson ’01 accepts his award for Outstanding Young Alumnus.
OCTOBER 19, 2011
The 2011 Brennan lecturer was Clint Bolick, Director of the Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation at the Goldwater Institute. His lecture State Constitutions as a Bul-wark for Freedom addressed individual liberty and protections found in state constitutions defending those freedoms.
Photos by: Ann Sherman
Brennan Lecture
SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
The topic of the INTEGRIS Health Law & Medicine Lecture was shaken baby syndrome and the recent reversal of a half-dozen shaken baby convictions. A distinguished panel of experts reflected on their experi-ence with shaken baby syndrome from both the legal and medical perspective. The panelists included: Keith Findley, University of Wisconsin Law School; David A. Moran, University of Michigan Law School; Dr. Patrick Barnes, Stanford University; and Carrie Sperling, Ari-zona State University School of Law.
Photos by: Ann Sherman
INTEGRIS Health Law &Medicine Lecture Series
OCU LAW Professors Celeste Pagano and Michael Mitchelson and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Eric T. Laity listen to the Brennan Lecture.
(from left to right) Professor Marc J. Blitz, OCPA Executive Vice President Joel G. Kintsel, Professor Andrew C. Spiropoulos, guest lecturer Clint Bolick, Professor Michael O’Shea, Judge Gary Lumpkin, and Interim Dean Eric T. Laity after the lecture.
Clint Bolick listens to a question following his lecture.
Professor Carrie Sperling, from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, presents during the lecture.
Panelist David A. Moran with his parents Melvin and Jasmine Moran. 51
SEPTEMBER 22, 2011
OCU LAW Alumni & friends gather to honor the recent admittees to the Oklahoma Bar.
Photos by: Brook Arbeitman
Alumni & Friends Happy Hour
SEPTEMBER 27, 2011
OCU LAW graduates participate in the Oklahoma Bar Admis-sion Ceremony in the House of Representatives Chamber at the State Capitol. Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Taylor, Oklahoma Bar Association President Deborah A. Reheard, Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners Chairperson Peggy Cunningham and Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin participated.
Photos by: Brook Arbeitman
Admission Ceremony
Justice Yvonne Kauger ’69, Cathy Christensen ‘86, Adam Christensen ’11, Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor, Governor Mary Fallin and Wade Christensen after Adam was admitted to the Oklahoma bar.
Family and friends look on as OCU LAW graduates take the Oath of Attorney administered by Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor.
OCU LAW May 2011 graduate, Elizabeth Ross-Jones, participates in the Admission Ceremony at the state capitol.
Faye Rodgers ‘06, OCU LAW Director of Academic Achievement Steven Foster ’08, 2011 graduate Dominick Williams, Cary Pirrong ‘90, and Gary Homsey ‘74 attend the Alumni & Friends Happy Hour in Oklahoma City.
Chelsea Celsor Smith ‘11 attends the Alumni & Friends Happy Hour in Oklahoma City. Alumni welcomed the recent admittees to the Oklahoma Bar at Abuelo’s in Bricktown.
SEPTEMBER 15 & 16, 2011
A delegation of six Russians visited OCU LAW to learn more about the law school’s clinical legal education programs. The delegation included one dean, one judge and four law professors. OCU LAW is at the forefront of clinical legal education with students gaining hands-on experience working with clients, under the supervision of staff attorneys, while simultaneously receiving classroom instruction in their area of interest. OCU LAW’s clinical programs provide a valuable opportunity for students to combine knowledge with skills of practice as they begin to develop professional judgment.
Photos by: Dawn Grooms
Russian Visit
Professor Laurie W. Jones; Director of the Native American Legal Resource Center, Kelly Stoner; Oklahoma Innocence Project Director, Tiffany Murphy and Directorof the Immigration Law Clinic Christina Misner-Pollard are surrounded by the Russian delegation after an exchange of gifts.
Professor Laurie W. Jones, accepts a gift from the Russian delegation.
Christina Misner-Pollard and Tiffany Murphy demonstrate a teaching tool Misner-Pollard utilizes with her students in the Immigration Law Clinic.
Students participating in the three OCU LAW clinical programs (from left to right) Russell Button 3L (Immigration Law), Sarah Rowe Clutts 3L (Immigration Law), Justin Bracket 3L (Immigration Law), Terra McDowell 3L (Indian Wills), and Jill Swank 4L (Innocence Project).
Casey Ross-Petherick and Kelly Stoner discuss the Indian Wills Clinic with the Russian delegation.
53
AUGUST 19, 2011
OCU LAW welcomed a class of 201 first year law stu-dents at a reception at the Oklahoma History Center. Then Interim Dean Eric T. Laity spoke about the ‘remarkable square mile’ which includes the capitol complex, the medical research facilities, downtown Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City University School of Law. With OCU LAW attorneys practicing in each area within the remarkable square mile, Dean Laity spoke about what an exciting place this is to learn the law.
Photos by: Ann Sherman
1L Welcome Reception
1L Ewomazino Magbegor (right) and a friend attend the Welcome Reception at the Oklahoma History Center.
Professor Andrew C. Spiropoulos and Grant Kincannon at the1L reception.
OCU LAW first year students from left to right Brian Jackson, Lindsey Carter, John Wiles, and Jodi Childers
AUGUST 16, 2011
OCU LAW hosted a reception for Founders’ Society members in
August. The event was an opportunity to say ‘thank you’ for their valu-
able contributions to the law school and for being part of its continued
success.
Photos by: Brook Arbeitman
Founders’ Society Reception
OCU LAW Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Eric T. Laity, andOklahoma City Councilwoman Meg Salyer.
OCU LAW Executive Board member, Irwin Steinhorn with OCU Law Professor and recipient of the Norman & Edem Professorship in Trail Advocacy, Daniel Morgan.
AUGUST 8, 2011
As part of orientation for the incoming class, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma D. Gurich administered the Pledge of Profes-sional Commitment. The evening also included a lesson about the privilege of being an attorney from Federal Magistrate Judge and current dean, Valerie K. Couch. OCU President, and former OCU LAW Dean, Robert Henry provided closing remarks encouraging the 1L’s to make the most of their time at OCU LAW.
Photos by: Ann Sherman
Administration of Pledgeof Professional Commitment
OCU President and former OCU LAW Dean Robert Henry welcomes the first year students.
The Honorable Valerie K. Couch, Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma and current dean, talks with a group of 1L’s during the Professional Expectations in Law School and Law Practice – Hypotheticals section of orientation.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma D. Gurich administers the Pledge of Professional Commitment to students and faculty.
Justice Gurich administering the Pledge of Professional Commitment to all in attendance.
JULY 11 – AUGUST 5, 2011
In the summer of 2011, students from four Chinese Universities came to OCU LAW for the Certificate in American Law Program. The four-week program includes an introduction to the American legal system including the role of attorneys, sources of law, research and writing techniques and trial advocacy in the American legal system. The Chinese students also tour local law firms and courts, meet with lawyers and judges and sit in on trial court proceedings. During their stay, they also visit Oklahoma City attractions and experience the Oklahoma culture.
Photo by: Nathan Gunter
Certificate in American Law Program for Chinese Students & Lawyers
OCU LAW 3L, Ann Steward, serves as a student ambassador during the program. 55
In this issue of the OCU LAW Magazine, we catch up with OCU LAW student Justin Grooms. The Illinois native and “student ambassador”just graduated in May 2012.
WHAT LED YOU TO ATTEND LAW SCHOOL?
As an undergrad I spent time in the ROTC. After completing my de-gree, I worked for two years while applying to various federal agencies. They said my application looked good but they would like to see a law degree. I wanted to be a JAG ( Judge Advocate General’s Corps) or a federal agent, so I headed to law school.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR GREATEST EXPERIENCES AT OCU LAW?
Listening to oral arguments, twice, in front of the 10th Circuit. To have them come and hear arguments in our courtroom was very gracious of them. It made what we were doing seem more important and real. Also, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor did a Q & A with the students. It’s not every day you get to listen to someone who has been on the Supreme Court.
WHAT DOES THE JOB OF STUDENT AMBASSADOR ENTAIL?
I am one of the “faces” for the university — one of the first people who people talk to or meet from the school. I take potential students and families on tours and help with our alumni outreach programs.
WHAT AREA OF LAW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PRACTICE?
For me, it’s all about litigation. I want to serve my country and those who defend it. JAG, and the practice of military law, is a great place to do that. I’m also interested in civilian federal criminal law. As a JAG, I may get the opportunity to be a special AUSA and practice in federal civilian courts. I am also interested in working as a federal agent.
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND ABOUT OCU LAW TO PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS?
One, we make lawyers here. When you graduate you will be readyto practice.
Two, the faculty and administration are very helpful. Though 1L year can be hectic, daunting, and stressful, I cannot think of a faculty and administration that does more to help the students manage it. If you need help, it’s there.
STUDENT PROFILE... Justin Grooms
57
DID YOU KNOW
There have been 12 deans in OCU LAW’s his-
tory and our 12th Dean, Valerie Couch, is the
first woman to lead the law school?
There are two OCU LAW alums working in
NASA’s Office of the Chief Counsel?
OCU LAW has the distinction of being the first
law school in the state because of its ties to
Epworth University?
When the University tore down the barracks in the mid-1990’s, OCU LAW Professor Michael Gibson saved a few bricks. The interim dean at the time, Professor Art Le-Francois, persuaded the bricklayers building Sarkeys to put three barracks bricks in the new Law Center. You can see the bricks on the right wall of Sarkeys as you walk in the main entrance. A piece of OCU LAW history lives on
thanks to Professors Gibson and LeFrancois.
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