Dear Friends and Colleagues:

As 2004 draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to thank all of those members and friends who helped the Oklahoma Bar Foundation achieve the successes it has enjoyed this year. I am grateful to our staff, officers and trustees, as well as those friends outside the foundation who gave their valuable time and expertise in helping the OBF throughout the year.

It has been a year of many challenges and opportunities. Most of the challenges were in the area of finances, and I am happy to report that notwithstanding these challenges, the OBF continued its longstanding tradition of being the charitable arm of the Oklahoma Bar Association. This tradition has been the cornerstone of the foundation since its simple beginnings in 1946. Though the phrase “the Oklahoma Bar Foundation works here” is a new one, over the years the sentiment has become a tradition. Throughout Oklahoma, where there are programs helping people in our communities, you will find the OBF doing its work. As leaders in our community, attorneys are called upon to aid in the betterment of our society. Whether it is to provide pro bono services to an individual in need or to serve on a community board, lawyers routinely “step up to the plate” and help. This is a hallmark of our profession. The OBF helps financially support programs that directly affect individuals and communities and as a result brings great credit upon our profession. The list is long and the causes are noble. Whether it is Law-related Education and High School Mock Trial programs; Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA); public education of the judiciary and the judicial process; law school scholarships; research and legal clinics; legal services for the poor and elderly, it doesn't matter – “the Oklahoma Bar Foundation works here.”

In 2004 the foundation took advantage of opportunities. In helping to honor our Oklahoma Bar Association in its centennial year, the Oklahoma Bar Foundation Fellows Program created a new tier of giving. The creation of our Benefactor Fellows Program called upon our bar leadership to become “Leaders Among Leaders,” which has been a great success. As of this writing, more than 100 benefactors have joined the new leadership level. The Oklahoma Supreme Court, recognizing the work of our foundation upon application, approved a change to Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct as it pertains to the Interest On Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA). This change moves Oklahoma forward from a voluntary to a mandatory IOLTA program. As a result, the future of our foundation’s work is financially secure. More importantly, the future of Oklahoma lawyers’ benevolent efforts will only grow and the foundation's capacity to support worthwhile programs benefiting individuals in need in Oklahoma communities will increase. Each time our foundation helps a worthwhile program, every Oklahoma lawyer
benefits.

Can we do more? You bet we can. We need to work harder and we need more help. Less than 9 percent of our membership participates in the OBF Fellows Program. We need more participation. This means each member of the Oklahoma Bar Association must ask themselves, “Am I doing my fair share?” It costs only 27 cents a day to be a Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. It costs 82 cents a day to be a Benefactor Fellow. What can you do to help? Join us and help us help Oklahomans throughout our state. Join us and be rewarded by getting more out of being an Oklahoma lawyer.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on the Oklahoma Bar Foundation’s board for the past eight years and to have served as the 2004 foundation president.

Sincerely,
William G. LaSorsa