MARCH 2026 | 81 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL Billy G. Freudenrich Jr. of Tulsa died Oct. 31, 2025. He was born May 6, 1961, in Oklahoma City. He grew up in Edmond, where he attended Deer Creek schools. Mr. Freudenrich graduated from OSU, where he majored in accounting and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1988. His practice spanned 50 years, with a focus on Employee Retirement Income Security Act law. Mr. Freudenrich retired from the law firm of McAfee & Taft. James Mercer Lamb of Tulsa died Dec. 27, 2025. He was born June 13, 1944, in Enid and grew up in Wagoner. Mr. Lamb graduated from OU with a degree in finance, where he was a member of one of the original President’s Leadership Scholars classes and of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He worked in various positions, including in all departments and branches of the First National Bank of Hawaii, sales manager and product manager of a communications magazine in Colorado, editor of Future and vice president of the public relations division of Ackerman Inc. Mr. Lamb went on to receive his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1979 and worked at the law school in university relations. After graduation, he practiced law for the rest of his life. He first practiced in the area of oil and gas law but switched to personal injury law after the oil bust in the early 1980s. He later expanded to general practice. Kenneth Clay McCoy of Yukon died July 28, 2025. He was born Nov. 12, 1948, in McAlester. He graduated from McAlester High School in 1967, where he played trumpet in the school band. He spent many hours hunting the woods of Pittsburg County with his dachshund and flying radio- controlled aircraft. Later, he became a private pilot, flying all over the U.S. and to the Bahamas. Mr. McCoy attended East Central University, where he studied accounting, and he graduated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1974. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 1976 and began his practice in Norman. Mr. McCoy mentored young lawyers and gave guidance to dozens of attorneys and staff. Stephen Russell McNamara of Tulsa died Jan. 24. He was born March 12, 1953, in Tulsa. Mr. McNamara attended Marquette School and Cascia Hall, earning the Cascia Medal in 1972. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1976 and received his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1979. Mr. McNamara’s legal career began as general counsel at Reading & Bates, where he routinely circumnavigated the globe, negotiating drilling contracts in every major global basin. In the late 1980s, his career shifted focus to more domestic oil and gas pursuits, joining the law firm of Sneed Lang and then establishing the law firm of McNamara, Inbody & Parrish. He served as a trusted legal advisor and litigator to numerous clients. Later, he joined the law firm of Hall Estill, where he took joy in mentoring and advising younger attorneys beginning their careers. Mr. McNamara’s passion for mentoring led him to teach undergraduate courses in oil and gas law at the TU College of Law. Clyde A. Muchmore of Oklahoma City died Nov. 12, 2025. He was born Jan. 4, 1942, in Los Angeles. He was raised in Ponca City and spent his adult and professional life in Oklahoma City. He graduated magna cum laude from Rice University, where he was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa. He received his J.D. from the OU College of Law in 1967, where he served as the note editor for the Oklahoma Law Review, was a national moot court finalist and received the Nathan Scarritt Prize for maintaining the highest grades in his class. In 1967, Mr. Muchmore started his legal career at Crowe & Dunlevy, beginning a 58-year career at the firm. He was co-lead counsel before the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case of NCAA v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, which forever changed college sports broadcasting and antitrust law. He also co-authored a pair of seminal works for Oklahoma legal practitioners that adorn the desks of attorneys appearing in Oklahoma state and federal courts.
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