(OKLAHOMA CITY - Jan. 14, 2008) – Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice James Winchester will swear in Oklahoma City attorney J. William Conger as 2008 Oklahoma Bar Association president at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18 in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the State Capitol Building.

He currently serves as university general counsel and a member of the faculty at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Conger is active in many community organizations, including the Heritage Hall School Board of Trustees, Speck Home for Boys and was a member of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Legacy Campaign. He currently serves on the executive committee for the OCU School of Law and is a director of the YMCA Youth and Government Program. He co-founded the Oklahoma City firm of Hartzog Conger Cason & Neville with Larry Hartzog and Len Cason, where he practiced for 25 years and is now of counsel to the firm. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1967 and received his law degree from the OU College of Law in 1970.

Conger has actively participated in numerous OBA committees. He chairs the association’s committee overseeing the $2 million renovation of the Oklahoma Bar Center, which houses OBA staff and the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. He was the recipient of the 2004 John E. Shipp Award for Ethics and the President’s Award for outstanding service to the OBA. He is also a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, American Bar Foundation and a Benefactor Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation of which he is also a trustee.

His goals for the year are to organize a conference that educates citizens about the importance of a legal system based on the rule of law, to enhance bar leadership and emphasize the importance of balancing work and life.

Guymon attorney Jon K. Parsley will take the oath of office to become OBA president-elect. He will become president on Jan. 1, 2009.

Other officers to take oaths are Michael C. Mordy of Ardmore as vice president and Stephen D. Beam as immediate past president. Both will serve one-year terms.

OBA Board of Governors members being sworn in are Jerry L. McCombs, Idabel; James T. Stuart, Shawnee; W. Mark Hixson, Yukon; and Jack L. Brown, Tulsa. They will serve three-year terms. Young Lawyers Division Chairperson Kimberly Warren of Tecumseh will take the oath of office to serve on the board for one year.

The 15,000-member Oklahoma Bar Association, located in Oklahoma City, was created by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to advance the administration of justice and to foster and maintain learning, integrity, competence, public service and high standards of conduct among Oklahoma's legal community.