New officers and board members took office on Jan. 1. A formal swearing-in ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the state Capitol.

---

D. KENYON ‘KEN’ WILLIAMS JR.
President
Sperry

D. Kenyon Williams Jr. served as OBA President-Elect in 2024. He has been active in the OBA and the Tulsa County Bar Association throughout his career.

Read Ken's expanded profile in the January 2025 Oklahoma Bar Journal: "Green Country Lawyer Leads Association in 2025."

He has served in almost every TCBA position, including president in 2014 and Tulsa County Bar Foundation Trustee. While serving as president, the TCBA was awarded the OBA Outstanding County Bar Association Award. The association also received the OBA Hicks Epton Law Day Award for its outstanding Law Day while he was serving as TCBA Law Day chair.

In the OBA, Mr. Williams has served as governor for Judicial District 6 on the Board of Governors and as a master, vice chief master and presiding master for the Professional Responsibility Tribunal. He has also served as chair of the Professionalism Committee and the Environmental Law Section and on various other OBA committees, most recently the Budget Committee and the Judicial Professional Responsibility Commission.

He is a frequent CLE presenter and a former recipient of the OBA Earl Sneed Award in recognition of his contribution to continuing legal education. The TCBA also awarded him the Gary C. Clark Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his many years of service to the TCBA and the legal profession.

Mr. Williams serves as an elder of The Park Church of Christ, where he and his wife, Teresa, and two of their three adult children and families also attend. Their third adult child and two of their eight grandchildren live in Scottsdale, Arizona.

---

AMBER PECKIO 
President-Elect
Tulsa

Amber Peckio is a solo practitioner with the Amber Law Group in Tulsa. As an AV-Rated Preeminent attorney with more than 23 years of trial experience, Ms. Peckio primarily practices in litigation, insurance dispute litigation, complex family litigation and personal injury litigation. She also works extensively in the newly established cannabis law field in Oklahoma and routinely counsels Oklahoma businesses in all cannabis-related legal matters.

Ms. Peckio served as OBA vice president in 2024 and is the past chair of the OBA Cannabis Law Committee. She is a member of the American Bar Association, where she previously served as vice chair of the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section Cannabis Policy and Law Committee and as state membership chair for Oklahoma. She also co-hosted “Between Two Weeds – Joint Sessions: 2024 Cannabis Legislation Preview” for OBA CLE.

She has served the OBA as an Oklahoma Bar Foundation Trustee (2014 to 2019), Women in Law Committee chair (2007), Lawyer Advertising Task Force member (2007), Young Lawyers Division board director for Tulsa (2006 to 2014), Professionalism Committee member, Law Related Education Committee chair, Solo and Small Firm Conference Planning Committee member, Audit Committee member (2022), graduate of the inaugural OBA Leadership Academy (2009) and as a frequent CLE speaker. Ms. Peckio was also active in the Tulsa County Bar Association, having served as vice president (2020), secretary (2019) and small firm director (2021).

She received her J.D. from the TU College of Law in 2003 and is admitted to practice in all courts in the state of Oklahoma and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern, Northern and Western districts of Oklahoma and the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. As a graduate of the TU College of Law, she has served as a past member of the Alumni Association board. She is also a sustaining member of the Junior League of Tulsa.

---

RICHARD D. WHITE JR. 
Vice President
Tulsa

Richard D. White Jr. is a shareholder at the Tulsa law firm of Barber & Bartz PC. During his 40 years of practice, he has represented businesses throughout the U.S. in commercial disputes and has maintained a substantial family law practice. He is licensed to practice in all Oklahoma courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern and Western districts of Oklahoma, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. White represented Supreme Court Judicial District 6 as a member of the OBA Board of Governors from 2021 to 2023. He serves on the Professional Responsibility Tribunal, and he chaired the Professionalism Committee in 2024. He is a member of the Tulsa County Bar Association and has served as budget chair (2014 to 2015), treasurer (2015 to 2016), secretary (2016 to 2017) and professionalism chair (2019 to the present).

He is a long-standing member of the Commercial Law League of America, having served as chair of the southern region and a term on the Board of Governors. He has been a Tulsa City-County Law Library Commission member since 2011. Mr. White received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from California State University Long Beach and his J.D. from the TU College of Law.

---

MILES PRINGLE
Immediate Past President
Oklahoma City

Miles Pringle is the executive vice president and general counsel at The Bankers Bank in Oklahoma City. A native Oklahoman and third-generation attorney, Mr. Pringle is licensed to practice law in Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. After graduating from Heritage Hall High School, he obtained his bachelor’s degrees from the University of Kansas in political science and history and his J.D. from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law, where he was a member of the national moot court team. Prior to joining The Bankers Bank, he was a partner with the law firm of Pringle & Pringle.

He has served the OBA and the legal community for many years, including as president, vice president and governor of the OBA Board of Governors, chair of the OBA Financial Institutions and Commercial Law Section and chair of the OBA Legislative Monitoring Committee. He is a frequent CLE speaker on topics ranging from banking law to legislative issues, and he has had multiple articles published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal and regularly contributes to the Oklahoma County Bar Association Briefcase. In 2018, he was awarded the Oklahoma County Bar Association Geary L. Walke Briefcase Award, and in 2021 and 2022, he received the OBA President’s Award.

Mr. Pringle is a recognized leader in the banking community. He has been a teacher for the Oklahoma Bankers Association Intermediate Banking School and other banking organizations. As an officer and past chair of the Financial Institutions and Commercial Law Section, he helps coordinate and present at the Annual Banking and Commercial Law Update. In 2022, Mr. Pringle was named on the 40 Under 40 list of national emerging community bank leaders by the Independent Community Bankers of America.

He is also very involved in his community. He is a board member of the Oklahoma City Rotary Club, Oklahoma’s oldest and largest civic organization, and he has served on the boards of local nonprofits. Mr. Pringle and his wife, Andrea, have two sons and are members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

---

WILLIAM LADD OLDFIELD 
Governor – District 1
Ponca City

William Ladd Oldfield was born in Stillwater and grew up in Osage County. He graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and received his J.D. from the OU College of Law. He was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 2005.

Mr. Oldfield is a partner with the Ponca City law firm of Northcutt, Clark, Oldfield & Jech, where his practice is primarily focused on civil litigation. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Courts for the Western, Northern and Eastern districts of Oklahoma. He also serves as the chief trial court judge for the Osage Nation.

 

 

 

 

---

JOHN E. BARBUSH 
Governor – District 2
Durant
John E. Barbush is a solo civil trial attorney who practices in the areas of torts, business litigation, securities and family law. He is also an approved provider for the Oklahoma Attorneys Mutual Insurance Co., representing attorneys in legal malpractice cases. He is a trained mediator and has served as an arbitrator. Mr. Barbush graduated from Ambassador University, where he was a student-athlete and received a bachelor’s degree in business administration before attending the OCU School of Law. He was part of the 2017-2018 OBA Leadership Academy class and has served as a delegate and an executive committee member of the Oklahoma County Bar Association Family Law Section.

He and his family moved to Durant so his wife, Judge Amy J. Pierce, could serve the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma as chief district court judge. They have two children, Ella and Mac, who are also proud members of the Choctaw Nation. Mr. Barbush served as the 2023 Law Day Chair for the Bryan County Bar Association.

 

 

---

CODY J. COOPER
Governor – District 3
Oklahoma City

Cody J. Cooper is an experienced litigator and a licensed patent attorney who represents individuals and companies in a wide range of business litigation and intellectual property matters. His practice primarily concentrates on complex commercial litigation in state and federal courts and intellectual property matters at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has been with Phillips Murrah PC for over 12 years.

He graduated with honors from OU with a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in finance and management information systems. He received his J.D. from the OU College of Law with honors.

Mr. Cooper is actively involved in his community. He is a member of the CASA of Oklahoma County Board of Directors and the past president of the Oklahoma County Bar Association (and currently the treasurer on the Board of Directors).

Born and raised in Norman, he now lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, daughter, son and two dogs. In his free time, he enjoys coaching his children’s teams in a number of different sports, spending time with friends and family, and attending OU Sooner and Oklahoma City Thunder sporting events.

---

BENJAMIN J. BARKER 
Governor – District 4
Enid

Benjamin J. Barker is a member of the Enid law firm of Mitchell DeClerck PLLC, where he has practiced since 2013. His cases and clients span the typical “county-seat lawyer” spectrum; however, he is engaged primarily in areas related to criminal defense and family law. He graduated from Enid High School in 2006, OSU in 2010 and received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 2013. He is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and he is a member of the Garfield County Bar Association, Cherokee Nation Bar Association, Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, Family Law Section and others.

Previously, Mr. Barker served on the Young Lawyers Division Board of Directors and has acted as Law Day Chair for Garfield County for several years. He is the secretary of the Phi Gamma Delta – Sigma Omicron Housing Association and the past vice president and a current member of the Enid Symphony Association Board of Directors. He and his wife, Kendale, have three children: Caroline (6), Elizabeth (3) and Charles (1), plus a dog, Herbert (10). While not in court, Mr. Barker has been known to do a little woodworking, leatherworking and (from time to time) banjo picking.

---

LUCAS M. WEST
Governor – District 5
Norman

Lucas M. West is an associate attorney with Nichols Dixon PLLC in Norman. His practice encompasses a variety of legal areas, including family law, guardian ad litem work, civil litigation, estate planning and municipal law.

Mr. West grew up in Mustang and attended Texas Christian University, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology in 2015. He was a member of the John V. Roach Honors College and the TCU Wesley Foundation. He returned to Oklahoma to attend the OU College of Law, where he worked in the civil division of the Legal Clinic and participated in the national mock trial team and graduated in 2018.

He worked as an extern at the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office before joining Nichols Dixon PLLC as a legal intern. In 2018, he passed the bar and became an associate attorney. He is licensed to practice law in all municipal and state courts, the Western District of Oklahoma and several tribal courts. He is also invested in his legal community and served on the Cleveland County Bar Association Executive Board, including as president for the 2022 to 2023 term.

Mr. West lives in Norman with his wife, Sarah, their son, Oliver, and two cats. He credits the support of his family and the mentorship of the attorneys at Nichols Dixon and the Cleveland County Bar Association for his ability to effectively represent clients in the complex and challenging legal process. He is honored to serve as a representative on the Board of Governors with the support of his friends and legal community.

---

PHILIP D. HIXON
Governor – District 6
Tulsa

Philip D. Hixon is a shareholder in the Tulsa office of GableGotwals. He has more than 20 years of litigation and contract negotiation experience representing the interests of clients in a variety of legal matters, including health care, construction, business counseling and general civil litigation, with approximately 25 state and federal appeals. He served as editor-in-chief of the Third Edition of Oklahoma Civil Procedure: Forms and Practice (Matthew Bender 2024).

He received his J.D. summa cum laude and his graduate degree in business administration from OCU. He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude in business administration from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Mr. Hixon is active with the bar and in the Tulsa community. He is a past president of the Tulsa County Bar Association and was honored with the TCBA's Distinguished Service Award in 2020-2021, as its Outstanding Young Lawyer in 2003-2004 and as the President’s Award recipient in 2020-2021 and 2003-2004. He has served on the OBA Audit, Budget, Law Day and Strategic Planning committees. He also serves on the boards of the Will Rogers Memorial Foundation and Christ the Redeemer Lutheran Church. He is a past board member of Morton Comprehensive Health Services, Tulsa Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together Tulsa; a past trustee of the Tulsa County Bar Foundation; and a former commissioner of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission.

---

CHAD A. LOCKE 
Governor – District 7
Muskogee

Chad A. Locke graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law in 2004. Licensed in both Oklahoma and Missouri, he joined the family practice in 2006 and has been a fixture in his community ever since. He is a member of the Muskogee County Bar Association and is admitted to the Muscogee Creek Nation and Cherokee Nation, as well as the U.S. Eastern District Court of Oklahoma.

Mr. Locke has served on countless charitable boards, including Kids’ Space Child Advocacy Center, Monarch Inc., Muskogee Little Theatre, Five Civilized Tribes Museum and Downtown Muskogee Inc. He is a past president of the Exchange Club of Muskogee and Muskogee Young Professionals and was inducted into the 14th class of Leadership Muskogee. For the past four years, Locke Law Office has sponsored the All Pro Tour Junior Clinic, where Muskogee children have the chance to learn from professional golfers. Mr. Locke holds himself to the highest standards of integrity, hard work and fairness. When he isn't in the courtroom or helping around the local community, he enjoys traveling with his three daughters and wife, golfing, reading and spending time on the lake.

---

NICHOLAS E. THURMAN
Governor – District 8
Ada

Nicholas E. Thurman serves as an assistant district attorney in the Pontotoc County District Attorney’s Office in Ada, where he handles major felonies, juvenile deprived cases and the county’s civil matters. He also serves as president of the Pontotoc County Bar Association.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, where he was a member of the varsity basketball team, graduating with honors in 2012. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 2015. While in law school, he served as treasurer for the Military, International and National Security Law Student Association and received the Pro Bono Service Award.

After graduating from law school, Mr. Thurman worked in the private sector with the law firm of Smith Simmons PLLC and served at several county prosecutors’ offices, including Canadian and Atoka counties, and with Oklahoma County’s Gang Enforcement Unit.

He lives in Ada with his wife, Hannah, and their three children, Faye, Booker and Farrah.

---

JANA L. KNOTT
Governor – District 9
El Reno

Jana L. Knott joined Bass Law in 2018 and became the firm’s managing partner in 2024. Her practice focuses primarily on appellate litigation, advocacy, briefing and consultation. She handles civil appeals in all areas of the law in both state and federal court, including oil and gas, trusts and estates, divorce, parental termination, appeals from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, real property, municipal law and bankruptcy. She also represents clients who wish to participate in an appeal as an amicus curiae.

Ms. Knott represents clients in district courts across the state in civil litigation cases as both trial counsel and embedded appellate counsel. She often provides district court-level brief writing and complex motion writing to other lawyers and firms in all areas of the law, including trust and estate disputes, business disputes, oil and gas litigation, municipal law and real property disputes.

Prior to joining the firm, she worked for seven years as a staff attorney to Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma D. Gurich. In addition, she has worked as an adjunct professor for the OCU School of Law, teaching civil practice and procedure.

Ms. Knott co-hosts and produces Oklahoma Appeals: The Podcast, where she and her co-host discuss new cases published by the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals and interview guests on all topics related to civil litigation at both the district court and appellate court levels.

---

KATE N. DODOO
Governor – At Large
Oklahoma City

Kate N. Dodoo is an experienced attorney who leads both the Appellate Practice Group and Immigration and Compliance Group at McAfee & Taft. With more than 19 years of legal experience in the public and private sectors, Ms. Dodoo represents businesses in appellate litigation and serves as business immigration counsel for major U.S.-based corporations and foreign-owned companies with interests in the United States. She also counsels employers on E-Verify, I-9 compliance, audits and general labor and employment matters. As a frequent author on legal topics, she has served as a guest legal columnist for The Journal Record and a contributing author to Law360, the Oklahoma Employment Law Letter, Midwest Employment Law Letter, HRLaws.com and EmployerLINC.

Ms. Dodoo is a dedicated public servant. Before entering private practice, she spent the first 15 years of her legal career in public service at the federal, state and municipal levels, including serving as assistant chief counsel within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and appellate attorney at the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Her community involvement includes serving on the OBA Bench and Bar and Diversity committees; previously co-chairing the Oklahoma Children’s Court Improvement Program Education Taskforce, founding the community-based conference supporting at-risk and special needs youth; mentoring high school and law students; and serving on various boards. Ms. Dodoo’s achievements have earned her inclusion in the National Black Lawyers Top 100 and the Top Attorneys for Appellate Law as named by 405 Magazine. In 2024, she was honored with The Journal Record’s Leadership in Law Award.

---

TIMOTHY L. ROGERS
Governor – At Large
Tulsa

Timothy L. Rogers is a shareholder at Barrow & Grimm PC, where his practice focuses primarily on business and construction law. He maintains an active litigation practice, with an emphasis on construction, surety, business disputes, bankruptcy and employment law. The majority of Mr. Rogers’ practice is in the construction industry, representing owners, developers, general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, architects, engineers and surety companies with drafting and negotiating contracts and dispute resolution involving contractual disputes, construction defects, mechanic’s and materialmen’s liens, bond claims and other related matters. He also regularly handles commercial leases and business contracts. He was recently named to Oklahoma Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list.

Previously, Mr. Rogers served on the OBA Young Lawyers Division Board of Directors and graduated from the OBA’s Leadership Academy. He also served on the Tulsa County Bar Association Board of Directors and as chair of the TCBA Young Lawyers Division. He was named the TCBA’s Outstanding Young Lawyer for 2010-2011 and received the President’s Award for Distinguished Service for 2010-2011.

In addition to his legal activities, he served as president of the TU College of Law Alumni Association and on the Leadership Tulsa and Tulsa Mayfest boards of directors. He is a member of the Oklahoma Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. and the Associated General Contractors of Oklahoma. Mr. Rogers graduated from OSU, where he received his BBA in economics and a minor in finance in 2005. He received his J.D. with honors from the TU College of Law in 2008.

---

JEFF D. TREVILLION
Governor – At Large
Oklahoma City

Jeff D. Trevillion is a director in the Oklahoma City office of Crowe & Dunlevy and a member of the firm’s Taxation Practice Group. He is an experienced trial lawyer and a certified public accountant who also chairs the Criminal Defense, Compliance & Investigations practice.

Mr. Trevillion, a native Tulsan, has called Oklahoma City home for more than 20 years. His OBA service history includes the Professional Responsibility Tribunal, past president of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation, the Credentials Committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, the inaugural Leadership Academy and the Young Lawyers Division board.

 

 

 

---

TAYLOR C. VENUS
Governor – YLD Chair
Enid

Taylor C. Venus is a native of Ponca City who graduated from OSU with bachelor's degrees in economics and finance. While attending OSU, Mr. Venus had the honor to be Pistol Pete. Thereafter, he obtained his J.D. and MBA at OU. While in law school, he served as the articles editor for the Oil and Gas, Natural Resources and Energy Journal and as an officer or representative in multiple student groups.

Mr. Venus has a passion for serving his local community and supporting other regional and statewide organizations. In Enid, Mr. Venus is the president of the Enid Public Schools Foundation, a member of Rotary and AMBUCS and actively volunteers with several other entities in Garfield County. Outside his local community, he is a member of his fraternity alumni board and president of the Cherokee Strip OSU Alumni Chapter.

In his time out of the office, Mr. Venus enjoys spending time with his friends and family, golfing, hunting and being an armchair expert on his favorite sports teams and political views.