Oklahoma Bar Journal
Meet the Ninth Class of the OBA Leadership Academy
The ninth class of the OBA Leadership Academy began in January. Its 16 members were selected for their demonstrated commitment to the legal profession and community impact. Congratulations to these program participants who are preparing to become the next generation of bar association leaders.
AFIYA WILKINS, OKLAHOMA CITY
Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Division
Afiya Wilkins is an environmental law attorney with the Water Quality Division of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. As a DEQ environmental attorney, she provides legal counsel, assists with rulemaking and enforcement proceedings and tracks federal regulations.
Ms. Wilkins is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, the University of South Carolina and Vermont Law and Graduate School, where she received her master's degree in environmental law and policy. She started her career in Washington, D.C., interning at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and then working at a small regional law firm in its D.C.-based energy practice office.
She returned to Oklahoma with a focus on consulting with community-based organizations on sustainable policies and practices that integrate social, economic and environmental concerns. In addition to her work with the DEQ, Ms. Wilkins also works with local nonprofits on activities related to environmental justice and community development, is active in water industry organizations and serves as a board member for Infant Crisis Services. She also contributes her talents as a member of the Oklahoma State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
ALEXANDRA KING, TULSA
Hall Estill
Alexandra King is an associate in Hall Estill’s litigation practice. During law school, she held leadership roles in the Business Law Society and the Women's Law Caucus, and she served as the business manager of the Tulsa Law Review. Ms. King also completed a judicial externship with Judge Christine D. Little. Prior to law school, she was a member of the women’s soccer team at Trinity University.
ALYSSA SLOAN, OKLAHOMA CITY
Crowe & Dunlevy PC
Alyssa Sloan is an associate in the Oklahoma City office of Crowe & Dunlevy, assisting clients as a member of the Energy, Environment & Natural Resources and Litigation & Trial practice groups. She frequently advises clients on regulatory matters before state and federal agencies, including the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency. Her practice also focuses on litigation of complex commercial disputes in both state and federal courts. In recognition of her achievements, Ms. Sloan was a 2024 NextGen Under 30 award recipient. She serves as a board member for Dress for Success Oklahoma City and secretary of the OBA Environmental Law Section.
She graduated from the OU College of Law in 2023, where she served as president of the Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher Chapter of the Black Law Students Association, co-president of the American Constitution Society and articles editor of the Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal. During law school, she received several honors, including the OBA Energy and Natural Resources Law Section Award, the OBA Environmental Law Section Award, the OU AFAMPS Legacy Builder Award for Outstanding Graduate Student and American Jurisprudence awards in oil and gas environmental law and environmental law. Additionally, she was selected into the Order of the Barristers, Phi Delta Phi and the dean’s honor roll.
Active in moot court, Ms. Sloan competed in the National Black Law Students Association Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Competition. In 2022, she received the Regional Best Petitioner Brief Award and the Judge Wayne Alley Advocacy Writing Award. In 2023, her team received third place at nationals, and she received the Best Petitioner Speaker Award.
AUSTIN MANLEY, YUKON
Manley Legal Services LLC
Austin Manley is the lead attorney and founder of Manley Legal Services LLC in Yukon. His primary areas of practice are corporate law, health care law, election law and administrative law, as well as others. Mr. Manley received his J.D. and certificate of business law from the OCU School of Law.
BAILEY MALONE WARREN, NORMAN
Office of the Attorney General
Bailey Malone Warren serves as an assistant attorney general for the state of Oklahoma, where she acts as general counsel and administrative law judge for multiple state agencies. She joined the office of the attorney general in August 2022.
Ms. Warren earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from OU and her J.D. from the OCU School of Law. She began her legal career as a public defender in Oklahoma County before transitioning to a local nonprofit, where she worked in case management and later developed and supervised a court diversion program.
Outside of her professional work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends and cheering on OU athletics and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
HILDA LOURY, NORMAN
Phillips Murrah PC
Hilda Loury is a litigation attorney at Phillips Murrah PC, where she represents both individuals and privately held and public companies in a wide range of civil litigation matters in state and federal courts. Her practice concentrates on complex commercial litigation, contractual disputes, commercial debt collection matters, business defense and insurance defense.
Ms. Loury is a member of the William J. Holloway American Inn of Court and serves on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma County Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, where she fundraises annually for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. During law school, she served as a judicial extern for Oklahoma County District Court Judge C. Brent Dishman and as an advisor to the chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in Geneva, Switzerland. Her comment on environmental law was also published in the American Indian Law Review. Prior to law school, she was a lecturer in the philosophy departments of two California colleges and the associate director of an interdisciplinary summer institute in St. Andrews, Scotland. She is bilingual in English and Persian.
JOEL AURINGER, TULSA
Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc.
Joel Auringer is a staff attorney in the Tulsa office of Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc., where he provides eviction defense services and prosecutes landlord-tenant and housing discrimination litigation. He joined the OBA in 2021. Prior to practicing law, Mr. Auringer was a private music teacher. He holds multiple degrees in music and received his J.D. from the TU College of Law. He is from Double Oak, Texas, and resides in Tulsa with his lovely wife, quirky small dog and rambunctious orange cat.
JOSH PUMPHREY, SHAWNEE
Stuart & Clover
Josh Pumphrey became a first-year associate attorney at Stuart & Clover in Shawnee after graduating from the OU College of Law in May 2025 and passing the bar that summer. While at OU, he was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in AI and the Practice of Law and was involved in the Christian Legal Society, the First Generation Law Students Association and the American Indian Law Review. As a member of the American Indian Law Review, Mr. Pumphrey served as an assistant executive editor and had his work selected by the members of the journal to be published in the spring 2025 edition. Mr. Pumphrey practices in many different areas of the law, including general civil litigation, appellate law, municipal law and collections. He is excited to grow in his experience as a young lawyer through his participation in the OBA Leadership Academy.
KATIE LINHARDT, NICHOLS HILLS
Office of the Attorney General
Katie Linhardt works at the Oklahoma attorney general’s office as an assistant attorney general in the Litigation Unit and on the litigation writing and editing review team. Prior to working for the attorney general, she served as a staff attorney at the Oklahoma Supreme Court for Justice Richard Darby.
Ms. Linhardt was team captain on the Hispanic National Bar Association Moot Court, where she received second place for best speaker award and was an elite eight national finalist. She was involved in the Order of Solicitors, OU Law Dean’s Leadership Fellow, OU Criminal Defense Clinic and the Federal Bar Association.
She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a master’s degree in social work, summa cum laude, in 2015 and from Southern Methodist University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2010, cum laude.
LIZ STEVENS, NORMAN
Office of the Attorney General
Liz Stevens was born and raised in Norman. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from OU. Before attending law school, she spent several years teaching English as a second language in Russia and Rwanda.
Ms. Stevens attended the OU College of Law, where she served as an editor of the American Indian Law Review. While pursuing her J.D., she was a judicial intern for Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma D. Gurich, as well as an intern for the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the United Nations. She graduated from law school in 2019.
She currently works for the office of the attorney general in the Legal Counsel Unit. She is also the District 5 director for the Young Lawyers Division Board of Directors and a board member on the Lawyers Helping Lawyers Foundation. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading historical fiction books and playing with her dog, Bear.
MACKENZIE KENNEDY, OKLAHOMA CITY
Rhodes Hieronymus Jones Tucker & Gable PLLC
Mackenzie Kennedy is an Oklahoma City-based attorney originally from Edmond. She earned her bachelor’s degree cum laude from the University of Arkansas, majoring in political science and sociology, and received her J.D. from the OCU School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Barristers.
Ms. Kennedy’s practice includes administrative enforcement proceedings, professional liability defense, labor and employment matters and personal injury litigation. Before entering private practice, she clerked with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma and interned (and later practiced) at the Oklahoma attorney general’s office, experiences that shaped her interest in regulatory and litigation work.
She lives in Oklahoma City with her husband, Mark, and their two Labrador retrievers, Rory and Kirby.
MATT KIEHN, OKLAHOMA CITY
Kiehn | Sanchez
Matt Kiehn is a co-managing partner at Kiehn | Sanchez, licensed to practice in Oklahoma, Texas and before the United States Tax Court. His practice focuses on cannabis law, business and transactional matters, estate planning and civil litigation. Mr. Kiehn earned his J.D. from the St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, where he served as president of the St. Mary’s chapter of the Animal Legal Defense Fund and competed as a brief writer on the national moot court team. He is a member of the OBA Animal Law, Business and Corporate Law, and Estate Planning, Probate and Trust sections. Outside of practice, he enjoys spending time with his family and many pets, as well as traveling throughout the U.S. and internationally.
MAXFIELD MALONE, TULSA
Pray Walker
Maxfield Malone practices at Pray Walker. He previously served as an assistant district attorney in the Tulsa County district attorney’s office, where he worked in the juvenile and criminal divisions. While at the district attorney’s office, Mr. Malone joined the Special Victims Unit and prosecuted cases involving sex crimes, aggravated domestic violence and domestic homicide. He graduated from the OU College of Law, where he was active in the Student Bar Association and a case editor for the Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal.
MITCHELL WELLS, TULSA
JPM Law
Mitchell Wells has practiced law in Tulsa County since graduating from the OU College of Law in 2020. During the first four years of his career, he served as a prosecutor in Tulsa County in the Domestic Violence, Organized Crime and Special Victims units. Now, as a second-year associate with JPM Law, Mr. Wells’ practice area is primarily focused on insurance defense, business disputes and criminal defense.
MORGAN W. SMITH, OKLAHOMA CITY
The Rudnicki Firm
Morgan W. Smith is an associate attorney at The Rudnicki Firm, where she practices oil and gas, civil litigation and insurance defense. She is licensed in Oklahoma and Texas.
Ms. Smith earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and international studies from OU, where she served as president of the 2019 Class Council and chaired the Student Government Association Human Diversity Committee. At the TU College of Law, she served as speaker of the House for the Student Bar Association and clerked for Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Dana Kuehn before graduating with highest honors.
SAVANNAH MENDENHALL, TULSA
Tulsa Lawyers for Children
Savannah Mendenhall is the legal services director at Tulsa Lawyers for Children, where she dedicates her practice to advocating for children and families in crisis. She serves as a court-appointed guardian ad litem in high-conflict custody, guardianship and paternity matters, working to ensure that the best interests of children remain at the center of every case. Ms. Mendenhall is a nationally certified mediator and a qualified domestic violence expert, bringing extensive experience in family law, deprived cases and child-focused litigation, including representing abused and neglected children in juvenile proceedings.
Beyond her courtroom work, Ms. Mendenhall is committed to building programs that expand access to justice and strengthen family stability. She is passionate about elevating child advocacy across Oklahoma and equipping attorneys with practical, real-world tools to better serve vulnerable children.
She earned her undergraduate degree from OSU and her J.D. from the TU College of Law. She lives in Tulsa with her family.
Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal – OBJ 97 No. 3 (March 2026)
Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.