(OKLAHOMA CITY - Jan. 17) - Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice James R. Winchester will swear in nine attorneys to the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors at 10 a.m. Friday in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the State Capitol Building.

Weatherford attorney Stephen Beam will take oath as OBA president. He has been a general practice sole practitioner in Weatherford since he graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1982. He is an active member in many OBA committees, is a sustaining fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and a member of the American Bar Association. He has been active in the OBA Board of Governors since 1995, where he served as OBA vice president in 2003. He has also received several awards for professionalism and distinguished service.

Oklahoma City attorney J. William Conger will take the oath of office to become OBA president‑elect, and he will become president on Jan. 1, 2007. He is the general counsel and a law professor at OCU School of Law. He has been a member of the OBA Board of Governors since 2003 and is active in many OBA committees. Conger has previously received the 2004 John E. Shipp Award for Ethics and the 2004 President’s Award for Outstanding Service to the OBA.

Jack Dawson of Oklahoma City will be sworn in as vice president, and Tulsa attorney William R. Grimm will serve as immediate past president. Both will serve one-year terms.

Other OBA Board of Governors members being sworn in for three-year terms are Cathy Christensen, Oklahoma City; Donna Dirickson, Weatherford; Deborah Reheard, Eufaula; and Peggy Stockwell, Norman. Young Lawyers Division Chairperson Christopher Camp of Tulsa 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. The 18-member Board of Governors meets monthly across the state and governs the association.