In the heart of Green Country in northeast Oklahoma lies Skiatook Lake – with its pristine, sky-blue water surrounded by rolling hills, rocky cliffs and dense greenery. This lake is part of OBA President Williams’ stomping grounds – a 10-minute drive from his home near Sperry and one of his favorite places to be.

This year’s president, D. Kenyon Williams Jr., who goes by Ken, grew up in Skiatook and feels fortunate to have spent much of his life living in Osage County.

“I’ve always loved the country,” Ken says. “It’s my natural default – where I like to be.”

Ken and his wife, Teresa, who have three grown children and eight grandchildren in both Oklahoma and Arizona, live on an acreage near the small town of Sperry and have been there for nearly 42 years.

“The kids got to see lots of wildlife growing up in the country,” Ken said. “We have 50 acres they got to explore, and they learned to love the countryside. We built a big pond outside our back door; the kids have been able to fish anytime they want to, kayak, and now, our grandkids get to do that here, too.”

LIFE IN RURAL OKLAHOMA

As a child, Ken was also able to spend a lot of time outdoors and in nature. He had his first “job” at just 5 years old, cleaning pots at his grandparents’ greenhouse. He continued to work there throughout high school, taking on more tasks as he got older, such as delivering plants across Tulsa.

When he was 16, he began working for his father’s steel company, both in the warehouse and making deliveries. His work with his dad and granddad taught him many valuable skills – including carpentry and electrical work – which would serve him later in life when he built his own home.

Ken, who is the oldest of four boys and spent a lot of time caring for his younger brothers, reflects on how life in a small town helped him become a sort of Renaissance man. In high school, Ken served as yearbook editor, played trombone in the band, sang in the school choir and was in speech and drama. He was a football player and helped start the school’s wrestling and tennis teams. He also spent time doing photography and had the opportunity to learn how to develop film in his grandfather’s darkroom.

“I think all the different life experiences we have kind of develop different aspects of our personality,” Ken said. “That experience of being active in so many different things – everything from scouting to student government and Boys State and all the different experiences I had – caused me to be more of a generalist and be adaptable. That, and the personal responsibility I had early in life, all helped shape me to be the person I am.”

Following his graduation from Skiatook High School, Ken attended TU, majoring in petroleum engineering. It was during his junior year in college that he met his wife, Teresa, through his church youth group.

“We became good friends; we used to ride bicycles together,” he said. “Eventually, she asked me out, and we started dating.”

The two lived in Midtown Tulsa while Ken finished engineering school. As soon as he graduated, they moved back to Osage County in Gilcrease Hills, just northwest of Tulsa. They got married in 1974, just two weeks before Ken started law school.

LAW STUDENT BY DAY, JANITOR BY NIGHT

Ken had received scholarships for his engineering program, but those scholarships did not cover the cost of living. That was when he decided to start his own janitorial business to make ends meet.

“I started my small business while in engineering school, taking care of the buildings at night,” he said. “By the time I got out of engineering school, I was tired of the government reporting requirements and regulations that I had to learn as a small business owner.”

He decided to go to law school and learn how to help other small businesses like his navigate the regulations.

HANGING A SHINGLE

While in law school, he interned for two law firms, but because Ken had already been running his own janitorial business for years, he was not hesitant to start his own law office straight out of law school.

“Having run my own little janitorial business for eight or nine years, when I got out of law school, I just went out and hung a shingle in Skiatook, America, in 1977,” he said. However, he was still running his janitorial business at night and continued to work both jobs for another year or two before selling the janitorial business.

Richard D. White Jr., this year’s OBA vice president, was Ken’s first law partner shortly following the opening of his law practice. After a few years of working as a solo and small firm practitioner, Ken went to work for an international company, where he became well-versed in environmental law. During that time, Teresa went to school to get her teaching and library science degrees.

When Teresa was finished with her schooling and started her teaching career, Ken went back to work as a solo practitioner. During that time, his small firm focused primarily on environmental and administrative law, helping companies and cities take care of regulatory matters.

In 1996, Ken was approached by Hall Estill of Tulsa about merging his successful environmental practice with the larger firm. Ken has been with Hall Estill ever since and is now a senior director at the firm.

“It’s been a great place to practice – a great bunch of lawyers,” he said of Hall Estill. “The firm is well run, well respected.”

LOOKING FORWARD

Ken says his experiences living in a small town in rural Oklahoma and coming from a lower-income background have influenced his perspective on the needs of rural Oklahomans, particularly when it comes to access to justice. His experiences have also influenced his goals for the OBA and where he hopes to see the association in the future. In the year ahead, Ken’s primary focus is on access to justice – both addressing legal deserts and making justice more affordable – as well as connecting with rural attorneys to address topics important to them.

“I came from a very poor family, and so did Teresa; I have come to understand, having a general practice for a while, how devastatingly expensive any kind of legal services can be to private citizens,” he said. “I am focused on trying to do something about making legal services more affordable for common hardworking folks who can’t afford representation.”

“That, coupled with the recognition of legal deserts,” he continued, “in so many different parts of the state, there aren’t enough lawyers to help people. I want to focus conversations on those topics.”

With several counties in Oklahoma having few or no attorneys, Ken encourages law school students to consider practicing law in their hometowns after graduation.

“We are desperately looking for solutions to legal deserts; it may come down to encouraging students to think about practicing law in their area when they get out of school and be a local resource,” he said. “There are 17 counties in our state where there are almost no attorneys – not enough people to even fill judge and DA spots.”

He also wants to hear from attorneys across the state to bring focus on issues that affect them, hoping to elevate these issues to the board so they can be addressed.

“There are things private practitioners have to deal with that I don’t even know about,” he said. “But if they tell me, I can elevate it to the Board of Governors and, ultimately, the Supreme Court if needed. I find it rewarding to be a link between practicing attorneys and the board for issues that may not be under discussion. We are always looking for solutions to things that practitioners are dealing with.”

BALANCING LIFE, WORK AND LEADERSHIP

Throughout his legal career, Ken has made it a priority to serve his fellow attorneys. He was active in the Osage County Bar Association during his time working in Skiatook, and in 2014, Ken took the lead at the Tulsa County Bar Association.

“The opportunity to give back at a leadership level to a large bar association was great,” he said. “Having interactions with other attorneys in nonadversarial ways and seeing the kind of volunteerism that lawyers have was really a defining moment. Some of the finest people I know are lawyers. I kind of took it on as a personal endeavor to let the general population know how much lawyers do that is good.”

He soon became involved in the OBA, serving as a member of the Environmental Law Section, where he served for several years. After some time, he was approached by former OBA President William R. Grimm to finish his term on the Professional Responsibility Tribunal. Ken did not hesitate and stepped up to the challenge.

“I stepped in on his last term and was very impressed with the whole process and how seriously the panelists take their jobs of listening to matters pending before them and making recommendations to the Supreme Court,” he said. “That was probably the impetus for me to focus on the state level of leadership.”

He then saw an opportunity to run for an OBA board position as vice president and has served on the board since. Ken sees his current involvement on the board as very defining – an opportunity to advocate for professionalism, civility, volunteerism and improving the view of lawyers in the eyes of the public.

When not working in the career he loves or serving his fellow attorneys, Ken can be found on the beach, traveling abroad or being active with The Park Church of Christ in Tulsa.

“Our church is very active in community service work,” he said. “If I were not working full time, I would spend more time using my carpentry skills in home repairs, for the elderly or emergency situations. The church just sent a crew to North Carolina to help people impacted by the tropical storm to put tarps on roofs so that families can get back in their homes as quickly as possible. I would probably be using the skills I’ve learned through the years in a direct way.”

For Ken, who serves as an elder in his church, work-life balance comes down to prioritizing three key things: “For me, it’s faith and family and then work. That has been a successful prioritization for me for all my life. As long as I remain committed to my role as shepherd of my church family and my personal family, then give all that I can give to work, that’s the recipe for a wholesome lifestyle. That’s balance for me.”

 

 

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PRESIDENTIAL Q&A

What are you most proud of during your time serving on the Board of Governors so far?

I think the increased focus (and personal passion) on professionalism and civility; Past President Brian Hermanson asked me to take that on while he was serving as president in 2023 and gave me an opportunity to be a spokesperson around the state to different voluntary bars, put on CLEs and really push that issue. To me, it is incredibly important, and for so much of my career, attorneys have not been respected for professionalism and civility. I think people are beginning to see the value of seeing opposing counsel not as an enemy but as another professional trying to do the best they can for clients. I am most proud, so far, of that elevation of professionalism and civility.

What advice would you give to a new attorney?

I would strongly recommend new attorneys look at the value of placing their practice somewhere other than big urban areas. It’s a rewarding lifestyle to be actively engaged in your local community, chamber and all the activities that are available in small communities. You can be a vibrant part of a smaller group of people and have an immediate impact.

Why is the bar association important to you?

Clearly, a group is stronger than an individual. You can accomplish a whole lot more through focused efforts with a larger number of people than you can with one. I see the association as critically important to 1) be a public advocate for the rule of law and 2) be constantly looking for solutions to provide access to justice. These are challenges that can’t be answered by a single attorney.

Why is it important to serve?

In many ways, service to our local communities, organizations or citizens is most important for us as “people.” It is very easy to become consumed with the time pressures and demands of the practice of law to such an extent that we become isolated and lose touch with others. By serving others, we remain connected and a part of society. It keeps us human and leads us toward empathy and compassion. And, from a very cynical perspective, involvement with others through service is one of the least expensive and most effective ways to market your services and receive the very important referrals of work.

What is your favorite OBA member benefit?

Lawyers Helping Lawyers. For most of my career, the mental and emotional health of our members has been the least discussed and the least addressed challenge of our members. I am so very proud of all who are involved in LHL and believe them to be saving lives in a very real way.

Where do you see the OBA in the next five years?

I see the OBA becoming much more active in the access to justice issue. I think we are going to broaden the availability of access to justice for people who can’t afford it. Practicing law is not a right, it’s a privilege. Hand in hand with privilege is responsibility. We have a tremendous responsibility to provide access to justice for people who can’t afford it.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Buchanan Hart is the OBA assistant director of communications.