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Ponca City Lawyer Takes Oath as OBA President

January 20, 2023

The new Oklahoma Bar Association officers and board members convened at the Oklahoma Supreme Court Ceremonial Courtroom at the state Capitol on Friday, Jan. 20, to be sworn into office. Administering their oaths of office was Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice M. John Kane.  

Brian T. Hermanson of Ponca City will serve as 2023 president of the OBA. As president, he will lead the OBA’s 17-member Board of Governors, which meets monthly and governs the OBA. His presidency follows a year of service as president-elect for the association.  

During the ceremony, Hermanson addressed those in attendance, honoring association leadership and expressing his hope and enthusiasm for the upcoming year.  

“I have had the opportunity over the last 40-plus years to serve many OBA presidents,” Hermanson said. “The tradition of leadership these presidents have shown has been incredible. I am humbled to start my service as OBA president. With the officers and governors we have, I don’t see how we can fail. With the help of our outstanding membership, the future looks very bright indeed.”  

Hermanson has served as district attorney for Kay and Noble counties since 2011. He has been involved with the Oklahoma Bar Association and Oklahoma Bar Foundation, serving in various leadership roles for more than 40 years. He served as OBA vice president in 1988, president of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation in 1993 and chair of the OBA Young Lawyers Division in 1982. He served as president of the Kay County Bar Association in 1989 and the Noble County Bar Association from 2016 to the present. He is a member of both bar associations. He has served as chair of several OBA sections as well as on the OBA Board of Editors. He served as president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the America Board of Trial Advocates, the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association and as chair of the District Attorneys Council.  

Others sworn in for one-year terms were Miles T. Pringle of Oklahoma City as president-elect, D. Kenyon Williams Jr. of Tulsa as vice president, James R. Hicks of Tulsa as immediate past president and Caroline M. Shaffer Siex of Tulsa as Young Lawyers Division chairperson. 

Taking oaths for three-year terms to represent their respective Supreme Court judicial districts were Jana L. Knott of El Reno, Nicholas E. Thurman of Ada, John E. Barbush of Durant and Timothy L. Rogers of Tulsa. 

OBA leadership roles are voluntary positions in which lawyers serve while continuing to practice law. 

The 18,000-member Oklahoma Bar Association, headquartered in Oklahoma City, was created by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to advance the administration of justice and to foster and maintain learning, integrity, competence, public service and high standards of conduct among Oklahoma’s legal community.