2005 President
Michael D. Evans, Frederick

Private practice in Frederick 1973 to present; B.A.- OSU 1969; J. D.- OU, 1973; president of Massad, Evans & Kent Inc., Frederick; part-time assistant district attorney for Tillman County, 1973-1980; 1981-1982; 1996-1997; city attorney for the City of Frederick, 1982 to present; general counsel for the Greer County Industrial Authority, 1996 to present; general counsel for the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization, a state agency, 1996 to present; general counsel for the Davidson School District, 1996 to present; Tillman County Bar Association president (multiple years); OBA vice president, 2001; OBA Board of Governors, 1996-1998; 2004; Professional Responsibility Commission, 1990-1995; serving two terms as chairman; Awards Committee, 1990 to present; Mentor Committee, 1998-2000; Budget Committee (multiple years); Investment Committee (multiple years); Strategic Planning Committee, 2003; Leadership Conference Task Force, 2003; ABA, member 1990 to present; Sustaining Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation, 1982 to present; Sustaining Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, 1998 to present; OBA President’s Award, 1989; OBA Professional Responsibility Commission chairman 1992 and 1995; OBA Task Force on Professionalism and Civility co-chairman, 1999; recipient of the 1996 OBA Masonic Award for Ethics, currently known as the John Shipp Award for Ethics, OBA President’s Award, 2002; member of First Baptist Church, Frederick, 1973 to present; Frederick Chamber of Commerce, 1973 to present.

2006 President
William R. Grimm, Tulsa

Shareholder, director and treasurer in the Tulsa law firm of Barrow & Grimm, P.C.; B.B.A., OU, 1970; J.D., OU, 1973; Tulsa County Bar Association: president, 1991-92, Board of Directors, 1988-93, chairman, Centennial Celebration Committee, 2000-03, Nominations and Awards Committee, 1992 Professionalism Committee, 1989-90, Community Service Committee, 1983; vice-chairman, Ethics Committee, 1987-88, member, Nominations and Awards Committee, 1999-present, Professional Responsibility and Grievance Committee, 1980-82, Awards: TCBA Gary C. Clark Distinguished Service Award 2003, TCBA Neil E. Bogan Professionalism Award 2002, President’s Distinguished Service Award, 1989 and 1990; Tulsa County Bar Foundation: president, 1992-93, director, 1992-1998, charter Fellow 1996-present; Oklahoma Bar Association: Board of Governors 1996-1998, Professional Responsibility Tribunal, 2002-present, Legal Ethics Committee, 1990-present, Budget Committee, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2003, Professionalism Task Force 1999-2002, Strategic Planning Committee, 1999-present, contributing author on 1999 OBA Long Range Plan and 2002 OBA Standards of Professionalism, Oklahoma Bar Foundation, Sustaining Fellow, 1994; ABA: Litigation Section and Law Practice Management Section, National Conference of Bar Presidents, 1991-93; American Board of Trial Advocates, 2000-present; Tulsa Title and Probate Lawyers Associations; certified as Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy; barrister, American Inns of Court-Hudson Chapter, 1989-92; National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, 1986-90; author, “A Practical Approach to Professionalism,” Tulsa Lawyer, June 1990; Law Enforcement Consolidation Task Force, 1992-93; Vision 2000 Criminal Justice Task Force, 1993-98; trustee, Skiatook Reservoir Authority, 1981-89; Who’s Who in American Lawyers; Tulsa Lawyers for Children. Areas of practice: commercial litigation and bankruptcy law.

2006 President-Elect
Stephen D. Beam, Weatherford

1982-present: sole practitioner, Weatherford; B.A., Oklahoma State University, 1979; J.D., University of Oklahoma, 1982; Oklahoma Bar Association: vice president, 2003; Board of Governors, 1995-1997; 2004-present; Board of Editors, Oklahoma Bar Journal, 1997-2003; Professional Responsibility Tribunal, 2000-2005; Management Assistance Program Committee, 1997-2002; chairperson, Solo and Small Firm Committee, 1999-2002; vice-chair, Solo and Small Firm Committee, 1998; chairperson, Convention Task Force, 2000; co-chair, Convention Task Force, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003; Strategic Planning Committee, 1999, 2003, 2004-present; General Practice Solo and Small Firm Section, treasurer 1999, secretary 2000, chair-elect 2001, chairperson 2002; Disaster Response and Relief Committee, 1990-1995; Legal Ethics and Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, 1991-1995; Law Day Committee, 1983; chairperson, Centennial Task Force, 2002-2004; co-chair, OBA Bar Journal Review Committee, 2002; Budget Committee 2002, 2003, 2005; chairperson, Mentoring Committee, 2003; co-chairperson, Discipline Task Force, 2002-2004; Tellers Committee 2000, 2002; Sustaining Fellow, Oklahoma Bar Foundation; Fellow Young Lawyer’s Division, 2001; Awards: Golden Gavel Award, 1999 (served as chair of the Solo and Small Firm Committee); Golden Gavel Award, 2004 (served as chair of Centennial Task Force); President’s Award, 2001, 2003; Solo Lawyer of the Year, 2003; American Bar Association: council, GP Solo Section, 2000-2004; division director, Solo and Small Firm Practice Division; GP Solo Section, 2001-2002; director Division III, Practice Specialty, GP Solo Section 2003-2006; Nominating Committee, GP Solo Section, 2001-2005; GP Solo Section Liaison to the Standing Committee on Solo and Small Firm Practitioners, 2001-2002; Long Range Planning Evaluation Task Force; GP Solo Section, 2001-2002, 2002-2003; Long Range Planning Committee; GP Solo Section, 2003-2007; chairperson, Sole Practitioners and Small Firms Committee; GP Solo Section, 1999-2000, 2002-2004; deputy chair, Communications Division Sole Practitioners and Small Firms Committee; GP Solo Section, 1998-1999; vice-chairperson, Solo Day-Toronto Annual Meeting; Sole Practitioners and Small Firms Committee; GP Solo Section, 1997-1998; vice-chair: Vendor Participation, Solo and Small Firm Day Committee; GP Solo and Section, 1999-2002; GP Solo Section Awards Committee, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005; GPAL Task Force (Awards), 2001-2002; GP Solo Section GP Link Bar Association Project of the Year Award, 1999 (Oklahoma Bar Association Solo and Small Firm Conference); Custer County Bar Association: president, 1992; Finance Committee, 1997-present; chairperson, Social Committee, 1985-present; Delegate to OBA Convention: 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999; Program chairperson, 1984, 1986; Law Day chairperson, 1983, 1985; Memberships: Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association; Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; Teaching: Employees: “Can’t Live With ‘Em, Can’t Live Without ‘Em,” Solo and Small Firm Conference, 1999; “The Small Firm Lawyer as an Employer,” Solo and Small Firm Conference, 2001; Keeping the Doors Open (Marketing Your Practice), Going Solo: “Big Bucks and No Boss!?!,” 2002; Keeping the Doors Open: Marketing Your Law Practice, Legal Institute of Pickens County, 2002; Participation as a Program Planner and moderator of tracks of CLE at the OBA Annual Convention, including litigation, general practice and how to be a better lawyer, 2000-2002; Clients: “How to Get ’Em and Sign ‘Em Up,” OBA Annual Convention, 2002; “Treading Water: Getting and Keeping Good Clients” Centennial Cruisin’-OBA/CLE Centennial Event 2004.

2006 Vice President
Jeromes A. Holmes, Oklahoma City

Received his undergraduate degree with honors in history from Wake Forest University and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was editor in chief of the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal. He also earned a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was a John B. Pickett Fellow in criminal justice policy and management. Currently a director at Crowe & Dunlevy in Oklahoma City where he concentrates his practice in the areas of white collar criminal defense, corporate compliance programs and internal investigations, and complex civil litigation. Prior to joining Crowe & Dunlevy, he served for over 11 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, where he was primarily involved in the investigation and prosecution of white collar and public corruption crimes. He served for several years as deputy chief of the criminal division and, for two years after the 9/11 tragedy, in the highly sensitive post of anti-terrorism coordinator, in which he was responsible for coordinating his office’s prosecution initiatives in the war on terror. Past practice also includes service as a federal judicial law clerk in Oklahoma at both the trial and appellate levels: first, for U.S. District Judge Wayne E. Alley, in the Western District of Oklahoma; and, subsequently, for then-Chief Judge William J. Holloway Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Before returning to Oklahoma in 1994, Jerome spent approximately 2 1/2 years in private practice at Steptoe & Johnson, a Washington, D.C. law firm.

Mr. Holmes is currently serving a three-year term on the OBA Board of Governors, representing Judicial District Three. He is a member of the OBA’s Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and its E2K Subcommittee, as well as the OBA’s Budget Committee and Finances Commission. He is an Oklahoma Bar Foundation Fellow. In addition, Mr. Holmes is involved in other bar activities. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma County Bar Association as the BOG representative, and is a master of the William J. Holloway Jr. American Inn of Court and a member of the Oklahoma City Association of Black Lawyers. Mr. Holmes is an active community volunteer. He serves on several nonprofit boards: City Rescue Mission, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, the Oklahoma City National Memorial Foundation and the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals. He is a member of Leadership Oklahoma (Class XVIII), Leadership Oklahoma City (Class XX) and the Oklahoma City Rotary Club (Club 29). He attends All Souls’ Episcopal Church, where he is a lay reader.

Supreme Court Judicial District One
Brian T. Hermanson, Ponca City

Received his undergraduate degree in history and political science from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis., and his law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, he is a sole practitioner in Ponca City. In the OBA he has served as Chair of the Young Lawyers Division, vice president of the OBA, chair of the Law Office Management and Technology Section, chair of the Litigation Section (three years) and the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section (two times). He is a fellow of the Young Lawyers Division of the OBA having served as that group’s first president and has served as an editor of the bar journal for six years. He has been a frequent speaker for CLE programs. He has been on many OBA committees and has served as chair of the following committees: Law Schools Committee, Committee on Unified Bars, Long Range Planning Committee and the Lawyer Referral Service. He has served as president of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and has served as chair of the following Foundation Committees: Special Events Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, Nominating Committee, Budget Committee and the IOLTA Committee. He has been active in the American Bar Association serving on many committees and serving as chair in the following: Standing Committee on Gavel Awards, Nominating Committee (General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section), Scope and Correlation Committee (GPSSFS), Solo and Small Firms Committee (GPSSFS), Tort and Insurance Committee (GPSSFS) and the Committee of 100 (GPSSFS). He has also served as a director and served three years on the Council of the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section of the ABA. He has also served as president of the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and had served on the National Board of Directors of the American Board of Trial Advocates, serving as president of the Oklahoma chapter. He has been awarded the following recognitions: Sole Practitioner of the Year (ABA GPSSFS), Earl Sneed Continuing Legal Education Award (OBA) and the Clarence Darrow Award (Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association). In his local community he has been president of the YMCA, Arts Adventure, Gifted and Talented Parent Advisory Board, Instrumental Music Parents Association, Ponca City Humane Society, Ponca City Rotary Club, Kay County Council For Retarded Citizens, Ponca Playhouse and has served several terms as chair of the Board of Community Christian Church.

Supreme Court Judicial District Six
Robert S. Farris, Ponca City

Rogers and Bell, 1990-present; B.S. mechanical engineering, University of Tulsa, 1972; Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society; J.D., University of Tulsa College of Law, 1975; admitted to practice U.S. Supreme Court, 1979; Special District Judge, Tulsa County, 1981-1990; National College of Probate Judges; American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; adjunct professor, “Wills and Trusts,” University of Tulsa College of Law, 1991-present; Outstanding Adjunct Professor, 1997-1998 & 2000-2001; clinical instructor, University of Tulsa Boesche Legal Clinic, 2001-2004; member and former chair of OBA Mental Health Committee and OBA Mentor Committee; member OBA Probate Code Committee and OBA Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Section; Tulsa County Bar Association, president, 2004-2005, president-elect, 2003-2004, vice president, 2002-2003; Tulsa County Bar Association Outstanding Senior Lawyer Award, 1996-1997; Fellow, Oklahoma Bar Foundation.

Supreme Court Judicial District Seven
Alan Souter, Bristow

Received his bachelor of science in economics from Oklahoma State University in 1989 and his juris doctorate from the University of Kansas in 1993, where he was a staff writer with the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy. Previously with Savage, O’Donnell, Scott, McNulty, Affeldt & Gentges and then Scott & Gentges in Tulsa from 1993 through 1998, and with Mike Jones in Bristow from 1998 until 2004. Now maintains an office in Bristow, and is also associated with the Tulsa firm of Herrold Herrold & Co. Currently serves on the Oklahoma Bar Association Access to Justice Committee and Awards Committee and is a past president of the Creek County Bar Association. Is a past president of the Bristow Rotary Club and currently serves on the Rotary International, District 6110, Heifer International Committee. Creek County Delegate in 2004 and 2005. Member of the American Bar Association, the Oklahoma Bar Association, the Creek County Bar Association and the Tulsa County Bar Association.

Member-At-Large
Julie E. Bates, Oklahoma City

Member of the Oklahoma City law firm of Postic & Bates (A-V rating). Born on a U.S. Air Force base in England; Midwest City High School, 1975; bachelor’s degree, Texas Christian University, 1978; law degree, OU College of Law, 1983 (National Trial Advocacy Team 1982, 1983; Order of Barristers; American Jurisprudence Award for Professional Responsibility; American Jurisprudence Award for Municipal Law; Adjunct Professor at OU College of Law since 2002, courses taught: civil pretrial litigation, adoption law; admitted to practice in 1983 to Oklahoma state and federal courts, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and United States Supreme Court; parliamentarian for 2003 OBA Annual Meeting; OBA Awards Committee (member, 2000 - present; vice-chair, 2003 - present); OBA National Mock Trial Task Force (member, 2004-2005); previously served on the following OBA committees: Rules of Professional Conduct, Civil Procedure and Legal Ethics; Fellow, Oklahoma Bar Foundation; member, Oklahoma County Bar: delegate to OBA Annual Meeting, 2004, 2005; alternate delegate, 1999 - 2003, Board of Directors, 2004 - present, Awards Committee, Committee on Professionalism; co-founder and Master of the Bench, Ruth Bader Ginsburg American Inn of Court, Inn administrator since 1995, Inn awards: 2004 John Shipp Award for Professionalism, 1999 President’s Award, 1997 Special Recognition Award; co-developer of annual CLE John Shipp Symposium on Professionalism, Ethics & Civility; co-author of chapter in Matthew Bender’s three-volume treatise “Personal Injury Defense Litigation Techniques;” author and co-author of other legal articles; attorney-coach and judge for OU College of Law trial and appellate competitions; coach for local public school mock trial team; church usher and Sunday school teacher; recipient, 2004 “Humilitas Award” for outstanding church service; volunteer at her children’s schools and named 1997 “School Patron of the Year.”

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