Oklahoma Attorneys Support Children’s Programs and Prevention of Domestic Violence

Oklahoma attorneys have taken a stand in support of children’s programs, domestic violence prevention and intervention, and legal aid services across the state through grants made by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation in the amount of $357,500.

Children’s programs took center stage this year with grants totaling $97,500 going to seven different programs, including the OBA Young Lawyers Division High School Mock Trial Program, the OBA Law-related Education PACE Workshop for K-12 teachers, Oklahoma Lawyers for Children and Tulsa Lawyers for Children’s pro bono service programs, My Own Place children’s supervised visitation program in southern Oklahoma and the statewide YMCA Youth and Government Training Program. An additional $10,000 has been awarded to Oklahoma Indian Legal Services to go toward work in its domestic violence division, which assists battered women and children with legal service needs.

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma also received an award of $200,000 to help upgrade its compensation plans and to assist in providing legal services to low-income and elderly Oklahomans. The $25,500 entry-level salary for new attorneys trails other legal salaries in Oklahoma and is the lowest legal aid starting salary among states surrounding Oklahoma. OBF President Judy Hamilton Morse said, “Legal aid services to Oklahoma’s poor and elderly have been continuously funded by OBF since 1986 and remain a priority for the foundation.”

The new Oklahoma Access to Justice Commission (OATJC) founded in June 2005 received a $50,000 grant. The OATJC, in collaboration with other legal aid programs, hopes to bridge the gap between people with no access or limited access to the legal system. Because it has less restrictive limitations on funding than some programs, one of the OATJC’s goals is to provide access to more people with a broader range of problems. OATJC will work to provide assistance to various legal aid programs that cannot possibly serve the large number of Oklahomans in need of assistance. OBF
President-Elect Hal Wm. Ellis said, “OATJC is in the infancy phase of its operation, and OBF looks forward to the many avenues of communication and assistance that will open through the work of the commission.”

This year, the foundation will award law school scholarships totaling $29,250 to Oklahoma students enrolled at all three Oklahoma law schools. The foundation maintains the OBF Chapman-Rogers Educational Fund and memorial scholarship funds in the names of W.B. Clark, Maurice H. Merrill, Phillips Allen Porta, Thomas L. Hieronymus and Marvin C. Emerson.

Through the generosity and cooperation of attorneys throughout Oklahoma, OBF has been able to award more than $6 million in grant awards since its founding. It is the official 501(c)(3) charitable arm of the organized bar and is the third oldest state bar entity in the United States.

HURRICANE KATRINA LEGAL ASSISTANCE FUND CHALLENGE

To help rehabilitate the Gulf States’ legal systems, the Oklahoma Bar Foundation, working together with the OBA, has established the “Hurricane Katrina Legal Assistance Fund.” More information about the fund is available in this month’s president’s message. Oklahoma City firm Crowe and Dunlevy has issued a challenge to all Oklahoma lawyers and law firms to make a significant contribution to this fund. Crowe has also pledged to match contributions made by its own attorneys. For their generous donations, the OBF wishes to thank:

Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City, Tulsa & Norman
Ashton, Wisener & Munkacsy, Lawton
Rick Bozarth, Taloga
Lynn & Sidney G. Dunagan, Edmond
Jerome A. Holmes, Oklahoma City
J. Gregory LaFevers, Tulsa

People wanting to assist can send a donation to:

Hurricane Katrina Legal Assistance Fund
c/o Oklahoma
Bar Foundation
P.O. Box 53036
Oklahoma City, OK 73152.