My OCBA Presidency comes to an end in September and I will hand over the gavel to the extremely able and Honorable District Judge J. Don Andrews. We will bring in new board members and say goodbye to attorneys who have spent the last three years on the board. We begin with a new set of officers, but this baton hand off will occur on zoom or with social distancing and mask wearing. Your OCBA Board, Officers and Committees started our work year with the Raising the Bar gathering in September 2019. Committee meetings, board meetings, young lawyer’s Chili cook off, and the work of your OCBA went off without a hitch until March 2020. We committed to celebrate throughout the year the 100th Anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment with the purchase and display of the ABA traveling exhibit and placement at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Judicial Center. The exhibit was scheduled to move to the Law Day Luncheon, then on to OKC City Hall and later to OCU Law School. I had started penning my comments for the Law Day Luncheon and for the Annual Awards Luncheon. However, no speeches for yours truly and no moving of the traveling 19th Amendment Exhibit.
Others have lost more than an opportunity to speak to their peer group. OCBA members during these precarious times have lost financial wellbeing, health, loved ones and their own lives. During this year we have lost several of our own and many whose model conduct and wise counsel we counted on. Now a mere five months after it all began, I remember that March week when things started changing. In my mind’s eye. it all turned on a Friday the 13TH with a full blood moon and the additional fact of Rudy coming to town that week. But now the NBA season resumed in a bubble. It is something to watch, but the NBA referees continue to show their disdain for the NBA of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s which we were able to remember clearly by watching Michael Jordan reminisce about basically owning every competitor during his playing career. What is now a flagrant offensive foul was once called good post play. Oh, how we wish for the good old days.
We were soon reminded that the good old days were not so good for everyone by actions in Minnesota that ignited the entire nation including OKC into calls for justice. Soon after that I wrote in the Briefcase that I was very proud of the Diversity of your OCBA Board. I remain so but we should always look for opportunities to do better. Our proud profession is not immune from needed changes. It begins with education and opportunities for people of color to have a chance for a college education, then to attend law school, later to be hired as an associate attorney, to be an ADA, to be a Judge, to make partner in a law firm, to act as lead counsel at trial or be the relationship partner with a client. And yes, opportunities to be a committee chair, director, office, and President of the OCBA need to be available. Our primary goals at the OCBA are to improve the legal profession and to support the rule of law. To fulfill that mission, we need a diverse range of attorneys in age, gender, and color; otherwise, we cannot possibly succeed. We must guaranty criminal, civil, and social justice for all.
A friend and strong supporter of the OCBA who we recently lost, according to his daughter and son, taught his kids that if they worked hard and had integrity they could accomplish much, and he would be proud of them. This was the baby boomer generation attitude that was the mantra I heard growing up. Hopefully, boomers will not be the last generation to reach both financial and educational goals that exceeded their parent’s generation. I still believe in that boomer mantra and tried to pass that on to my daughters. I see so many examples of positive results that I can’t believe those opportunities don’t still exist for other generations. It is possible that hard work, integrity, and sometimes a necessary assist will yield excellent life results for new generations of diverse students and attorneys. I see examples all around; for instance, a kid from small town Iowa who touched so many lives personally and professionally that all feel like he was their mentor and friend. I see a young lady from small town Indiana that became a lawyer, judge, and Supreme Court Chief Justice. I see an Oklahoma panhandle tow truck driver’s daughter who is a Past President of the OCBA and now a District Judge. Her family story of immigrating to the USA includes a piece of American history known for horrible servitude situations. There are many other success stories of overcoming systemic obstacles.
My own story is that of the first generation in my family achieving a college education and then on to law school. On one side of my family tree is a great grandmother who worked a taco cart on the Juarez side of The Bridge, her daughter cleaned houses for white people in El Paso and obtained her American citizenship. My mother was born in the USA, went to high school and into the USAF. There she met another USAF serviceman from a small town in Oklahoma. They married at a courthouse in small town Oklahoma. His family had lived in the Kiamichi mountains of southeastern Oklahoma and migrated up highway 69 to northeastern Oklahoma. One of his great grands had left the Trail of Tears on the way to the Indian Nations, married a man who lived in the hills of Arkansas and their offspring later moved to Indian Territory. I was born in an Indian Clinic in small town Oklahoma. After high school I attended OU on an Engineering scholarship but had no idea what college was or what being an engineer was about. Later with an assist I was accepted in the OU College of Law. This was never a planned career until that door opened for me which was also when my engineering job door was closed by the energy industry crash of 1982 and the resulting devastation to Oklahoma economy that seemed to last for over a decade. I saw my family history and my brown skin color as representing people who had sacrificed for my opportunity and that provided motivation to work hard. But along the way, I needed an assist and so might others. I challenge you to find opportunities to provide an assist where needed.
I have been fortunate in all my professional opportunities. There are so many people that have set examples for me, prodded me into doing things I was hesitant to do or didn’t consider doing, and have been there to put me back up on the horse when I had been thrown off. My OCBA Board service started in the early 1990s and then took a circuitous route to this time in 2020. I must thank past OCBA leaders who intersected my path including retired Magistrate Judge Bana Roberts for her guidance when I was a young Board member, posthumously to District Judge Vickie Robertson who asked me to chair the OCBA Fee and Grievance committee which I did for five years and Special Judge Geary Walke who asked me five years ago to begin regularly writing for the OCBA Briefcase which started as a technology article for mature attorneys to remain competitive in the legal profession. So many others have offered and assisted along the way that I cannot mention them all here. My exposure to OCBA young lawyers committee and their activities keeps me excited for the future and knowing that the OCBA future is in good hands. It also reminded me of the fun times we had as young lawyers.
I was fortunate to have the late Steve Barghols nudging me here and there during my time as OCBA Vice President, President Elect and President. I hope that others will do the same for future leadership. I know I will endeavor to do so with the same commitment and devotion to our profession as Steve. Lastly, I must say a huge thank you to Debbie, Pam and Connie, your OCBA staff, who but for them this job would be impossible. It was not the year we planned but we handled the year that it has been. I believe the OCBA will continue to progress even in these times of social distancing and mask wearing. However, to do so the OCBA needs you, your time, your commitment, and your ideas. 2020 has shown us that we all must change to reach our goals of improving the profession and supporting the rule of law. I hope to see you in person soon. Until then, we will zoom, phone conference, wear our masks, social distance, wash our hands with soap often, Thunder Up, lament the lost college football season, and keep your faith. Thank you all!
Byline: Michael W. Brewer is an attorney, founder, and partner of Hiltgen & Brewer, P.C. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. To contact Mike, email mbrewer@hbokc.law, call (405) 605-9000 or tweet him at @attymikeb. For more information, please visit www.hbokc.law.
Open & Obvious? 