Julie A. Bays
Ms. Bays joined the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office in April of 2002, where was responsible for prosecuting antitrust and consumer protection cases. Ms. Bays served on various task forces and committees, including the Oklahoma Bar Association Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, the Federal Trade Commission Southwest Netforce and the National Attorneys General Association Antitrust Policy Task Force. She taught various continuing legal education classes for the state of Oklahoma. Ms. Bays also traveled the state educating consumers regarding identity theft and other types of consumer and internet fraud. In January 2013, she was appointed chief, assistant attorney general of the Consumer Protection Unit. In November 2018, Ms. Bays joined the Oklahoma Bar Association as their practice management advisor. She works with the OBA Management Assistance Program to provide assistance to attorneys using technology and other tools to efficiently manage their offices. Ms. Bays is also involved with the Access to Justice initiatives of the OBA, such as Oklahoma Free Legal Answers. She actively contributes to the Law Practice Division of the American Bar Association, where she serves on multiple committees and regularly authors articles for the Law Practice Magazine's "Product Watch" column. She was co-chair of the Planning Board for the ABA TECHSHOW 2025 and continues to serve as a board member for TECHSHOW 2026.
Kevin Behrens
Kevin Behrens is the traffic safety resource prosecutor for the state of Oklahoma and is an assistant general counsel with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, where he also deals with policy matters, including impaired driving prevention policy. During his career with the state of Oklahoma, he has held the position of director of the Board of Tests for Alcohol and Drug Influence, interim director of the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and assistant attorney general. Prior to joining state government, Mr. Behrens practiced civil rights and general tort defense in private practice. Mr. Behrens is the chair of the Oklahoma Impaired Driving Prevention Advisory Committee and has held leadership positions in the National Association of Ignition Interlock Program Administrators, Governor’s Highway Safety Administration Executive Committee, the National Child Passenger Safety Board, the Oklahoma Motorcycle Safety Advisory Committee and the International Association for Chemical Testing.
S. Shea Bracken
Shea Bracken grew up in Stillwater. Following high school, he served in the United States Marine Corps as an Infantry TOW Gunner. He is a decorated war veteran with a combat deployment to Fallujah during Operation Iraqi Freedom II.
Before representing catastrophically injured individuals, he represented large corporations and hospitals. However, he discovered that his passion is standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. By joining Maples, Nix & Diesselhorst in 2017, Mr. Bracken uses his experience and unique set of skills to obtain justice and a positive outcome for his clients. His practice focuses primarily on catastrophic injury, medical malpractice, and birth injury cases. His passion for litigating cases allows him to continue to fight for his clients. Mr. Bracken served on the OBA Board of Governors from 2022 through 2024. He received his J.D. from the OCU School of Law in 2011. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters. He also enjoys sports, especially Oklahoma State, Oklahoma City Thunder basketball, Tottenham Hotspur, exercising, reading, and watching movies.
Kenton Brice
Kenton Brice is the director of the Donald E. Pray Law Library at the OU College of Law. He joined the library in 2015 as its first digital resources librarian. In addition to teaching legal research in the Legal Research, Writing and Advocacy Program, Mr. Brice also assists in administering the Digital Initiative at the OU College of Law. He brings his professional and technical experiences to the OU College of Law to help educate students on how to utilize technology to become more effective researchers, lawyers and professionals.
Judge Anthony L. Bonner Jr.
Anthony L. Bonner Jr. serves as a District Judge for the Oklahoma County District Court, 7th Judicial District of Oklahoma. Judge Bonner currently presides over a civil docket. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Bonner was a civil litigator and trial attorney for over 15 years. Judge Bonner attended OU and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in philosophy. He obtained his law degree from the OU College of Law. Additionally, over the span of his career, Judge Bonner has served on numerous legal committees, community organizations and church ministries.
Brian Candelaria
For over ten years, Brian Candelaria has studied Federal Indian Law and Tribal Law by obtaining a Master’s Degree, graduating from the OCU School of Law in 2019, with a certificate of American Indian Law and through continued legal education as a licensed attorney. During law school, Mr. Candelaria was elected to serve as the president of the school’s Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) and was elected to represent Region 3 of the National Native American Law Student Association (NNALSA), serving on its national Board of Directors. Mr. Candelaria has had articles published in the Seattle University School of Law’s American Indian Law Journal. Mr. Candelaria has worked as a staff attorney at Oklahoma Indian Legal Services (OILS) for five years and previously interned with OILS while in law school. He is currently a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) and several tribal bar associations. He previously served as the chair of the OBA Access to Justice Committee and is currently chair of the OBA Indian Law Section. Last year he served as chair of the Oklahoma Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (OK-VOAD). In addition to his bar association and other organization leadership work, Mr. Candelaria serves as OIL’s Disaster Navigator. In this role, Mr. Candelaria, helps tribal citizens and communities prepare for and recover from disaster. While working for OILS, Mr. Candelaria has embraced the organizational mission of OILS to serve the legal needs of low-income enrolled tribe members residing in Oklahoma and looks forward to serving the Native American tribal communities for years to come. He happily lives in Norman with his wife, Kathryn, and multiple cats.
Jason Christopher
Jason Christopher is a 1997 graduate of the OU College of Law. He served as a prosecutor for the Atoka County District Attorney’s office before starting his own practice in 2002. Mr. Christopher is a founding member of Sweeney, Christopher, Rex & Lawson and is now a solo practitioner. He has tried numerous criminal and civil jury trials. He has tried cases in both state and federal courts. Mr. Christopher is a member of the Chickasaw Nation Bar Association, the Oklahoma Bar Association and is admitted practice in federal court. He serves as an associate bar examiner and adjunct professor of criminal law at East Central University. Jason serves as city judge for the town of Tupelo and the town of Stonewall. He serves as attorney for the town of Fitzhugh. He can be reached at Jason@Christopher.law
Erin Means DeWalt
Erin DeWalt is the director of legal writing and a professor of legal practice at the OU College of Law, where she teaches courses on legal writing and oral advocacy. Prior to joining the faculty at OU, she worked as an associate attorney at Gungoll, Jackson, Collins, Box & Devoll PC in Enid. While in private practice, Professor DeWalt focused on litigation involving oil and gas matters, construction law, commercial law, negligence, contract disputes and property disputes.
Katie Dilks
Katie Dilks is the executive director of the Oklahoma Access to Justice Foundation (ATJ Foundation), where she works to collaboratively identify and strengthen statewide solutions to increase meaningful participation in a fair and accessible civil justice system for all Oklahomans. She brings over 15 years of experience in access to justice work to her role with the ATJ Foundation, including nine years counseling law students in pursuing nonprofit and government careers and developing two nonprofits focused on providing affordable legal services in Washington, DC. Ms. Dilks has written and presented on access to justice topics, including the need for affordable legal services, eviction prevention and legislative reform, the impact and importance of pro bono, plain language court forms, career pathways in government and nonprofit law and more. As a relatively new Oklahoman, she is excited to bring a national perspective to the challenges and opportunities in Oklahoma’s justice system while building on the unique strengths our state offers. She earned her J.D. and master’s in public policy from Georgetown University and her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Kansas. She is a member of the bar in the District of Columbia.
Elaine Dowling
Elaine Dowling is a native Oklahoman and a 1990 graduate of the OU College of Law. She has had a varied career, but she is best known as a consumer bankruptcy attorney. Ms. Dowling lives in Norman with her husband, an ancient miniature poodle and an irrepressible 60-lb standard poodle who thinks all poodles are lap dogs.
Phil Fraim
Phil Fraim has been at Oklahoma Attorneys Mutual Insurance Co. (OAMIC) since 1989 and has served as president and CEO since 1993. He is past-president of the National Association of Bar Related Insurance Companies (NABRICO) and currently serves as secretary of the organization. He also serves as secretary of the Bar Plan Surety & Fidelity Company, is a board member of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) and is a member of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS). Mr. Fraim is an alumnus of the University of Central Oklahoma and is a trustee of the Edmond Economic Development Authority.
Gina Hendryx
Gina Hendryx is the OBA General Counsel. A licensed attorney for more than 30 years, Ms. Hendryx received her J.D. from OCU School of Law. As General Counsel she is the chief disciplinary counsel, supervising a staff of 15 and serves as the association’s counsel on other legal matters. Ms. Hendryx works with the Professional Responsibility Commission and serves as a liasion to the OBA Board of Governors, OBA committees, the courts, and other local and national entities concerning lawyer ethics issues. Hendryx is a frequent lecturer in the areas of professional responsibility and compliance with ethical standards. She has spoken to numerous private, public and governmental sector groups including state and county bar associations, legal services groups, and Judge Advocate General training programs. She writes a regular column for the Oklahoma Bar Journal on current issues in the area of professional accountability. She is also an avid scuba diver with over 1000 logged dives and hold instructor level ratings with several scuba certification agencies.
Virginia Henson
Virginia (Ginny) Henson has been a lawyer for 45 years. She currently practices in Norman as a sole PLLC and is of counsel with Mullins, Mullins, Sexton & Reaves in Oklahoma City. Ms. Henson is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. She has twice been named outstanding Family Lawyer and has been named outstanding mediator by the Oklahoma Bar Association Family Law Section. Ms. Henson received the Golden Quill award for best Oklahoma Bar Journal article. She has testified as an expert witness in the United Kingdom and also teaches Family Law as an adjunct at OU. She edits the Oklahoma Family Law Handbook and Codebook, started by Professor Bob Spector and is a frequent CLE speaker.
Steven M. Holden
Steven M. Holden is a senior associate at Cannon & Associates. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law. He has been representing individuals and families navigating divorce and child custody cases for over 25 years. Throughout his career, he has successfully litigated every type of family law issue and fiercely advocates for the interests of his clients and their family. Mr. Holden is a well-respected and seasoned family law mediator, helping attorneys and their clients resolve over 1,000 cases in the past 10-plus years.
Mr. Holden and his family live in Edmond. He loves attending any and all sporting events, but loves the Thunder and the Kansas Jayhawks the most!
Tara Jordan de Lara
Tara Jordan de Lara is the executive director of Latitude Legal Alliance. Latitude is a nonprofit that focuses on providing trauma-informed, culturally competent immigration legal services to people of all backgrounds. Having been born and raised here in Oklahoma, Ms. de Lara is now dedicated to empowering those who choose to call Oklahoma home. Before Latitude, she co-founded the OKC Afghan Legal Network and helped provide legal services to the over 1,000 newly resettled Afghans in and around Oklahoma City. She is a graduate of the OU College of Law and presently lives in Norman with her husband and two children.
Chad Kelliher
Chad Kelliher is a partner at the Oklahoma City firm of Fulmer Sill, who has devoted his legal career to helping injured Oklahomans. He brings a vast wealth of experience in handling trucking accidents, catastrophic injuries and insurance bad-faith claims. Mr. Kelliher is deeply devoted to serving the legal profession. He the current chairperson of the Oklahoma Bar Association Professionalism Committee and serves on the OBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee. His passion for service to the profession extends to helping other lawyers further their legal education and develop the skills necessary to help their clients. He is a frequent presenter of CLE programming and in 2021, received the Earl Sneed Award from the OBA in recognition of outstanding continuing education contributions. Outside of the office, Mr. Kelliher enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter and beloved hound dog. He is a Kansas basketball junkie, shooting enthusiast and avid hunter. Knowing the value of hard work and honest dealings, he prides himself on being equally adept in the woods, in a flooded duck marsh or in the courtroom.
Sabah Khalaf
Sabah Khalaf is the owner and managing attorney of the Tulsa DUI Guy. His practice is focused on high-stakes litigation and criminal matters. Mr. Khalaf practices in federal, state, tribal and municipal criminal courts from prefiling investigations to trial. Mr. Khalaf effectively communicates with his clients, prosecutors and other agents to quickly minimize the stress and disruption a criminal investigation or charge can have on a person’s life and to resolve each case in the most favorable manner possible. He is also recognized for his expertise in dealing with administrative actions affecting driver’s licenses. He regularly represents CDL holders, handles driver’s license revocations, suspensions and denials. He speaks regularly at CLE engagements on the topics of criminal defense, DUI defense and administrative actions. He is the current president of the Council Oak Johnson Sontag Inns of Court and has received numerous awards throughout his career.
Anastasia Krich-Mahoney
Anastasia Krich-Mahoney practices with McDaniel Acord PLLC in Tulsa. Originally from Germany, Ms. Krich-Mahoney practices primarily family matters and appellate law. She has represented clients throughout northeastern Oklahoma in state courts as well as the courts of the Cherokee and Muskogee (Creek) Nation. She received her LLB in European and International Law from Maastricht University in the Netherlands and her J.D. from the TU College of Law. She currently serves as the chair for both the OBA Family Law Section and the Tulsa County Bar Association Family Law Section.
Justin Lollman
Justin Lollman is an appellate attorney and shareholder at GableGotwals, where his practice focuses on civil and criminal appeals, original proceedings and critical motions in state and federal courts across the country, with an emphasis on the Tenth Circuit and Oklahoma appellate courts. Before entering private practice, Mr. Lollman clerked for judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Outside the courtroom, he frequently writes and speaks on appellate advocacy, issue preservation and recent developments in Oklahoma appellate law.
Terrell Monks
Bio to Come!
Mark Myers
Mark Myers is a litigator in Steptoe & Johnson PLLC’s Oklahoma City office, having previously practiced with firms in Dallas and San Diego. He served as a career law clerk for Judge Larry Burns of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, including during Judge Burns’ tenure as Chief Judge of the district. He also served as clerk for the Judge William Holloway Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Mr. Myers is a native Oklahoman and a graduate of Stanford Law School.
Laurie Phillips
Laurie Phillips is a fourth generation Tulsan. Her grandparents came to Tulsa to work in the oil industry. She was the first in her family to earn a college degree. Her parents were both union leaders. Her family lived in East Tulsa, where she went to East Central High School. She earned her undergraduate degree in history through Langston University while working full-time and raising a child. After her daughter graduated from high school and went off to college, Ms. Phillips was accepted to law school at TU. Again, she worked full-time while attending school full-time. She is grateful for all the help she received. She feels fortunate to have been influenced by her parents, Barbara Cale and Larry Uhl, employer and mentor Tomy Frasier and her TU College of Law professor (and now father in law), Jim Thomas. Because of their influence and legacy, she was awarded the Eagle Award and the Local Champion Award. She now lives in mid-town Tulsa with her spouse, Mike Thomas, and pup, Notorious RBG. She enjoys adventures and taking road trips, with Notorious RBG of course, and has numerous interests including dog training, landscaping, indoor plants, photography, reading, sci-fi and technology.
J. David (Dave) Rhea
As Marketing Director at Phillips Murrah, Dave Rhea leads and oversees the firm’s marketing efforts with a focus on market positioning, community branding, content development, digital outreach and strategic communications. With 10 years in this position, Mr. Rhea has used his wide-ranging skills and talent to increase Phillips Murrah’s visibility and reputation, nurture client and community relationships and drive growth through thoughtful, results-driven initiatives. Phillips Murrah is a full-service law firm headquartered in Oklahoma City providing integrated business and litigation strategies to a diverse base of industry-leading clients.
Damien Riehl
Damien Riehl is a lawyer and technologist with experience in complex litigation, digital forensics and software development. A lawyer since 2002 and coder since 1985, Mr. Riehl clerked for the chief judges of state and federal courts, practiced in complex litigation for over a decade, has led teams of cybersecurity and world-spanning digital forensics investigations and has built AI-backed legal software. Co-chair of the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Connected and Automated Vehicles, he is helping recommend changes to Minnesota statutes, rules, and policies — all related to connected and autonomous vehicles. He is chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association AI Committee, which oversees an AI Sandbox to promote Access to Justice (A2J). At SALI, the legal data standard, Mr. Riehl built and greatly expanded the taxonomy of over 18,000 legal tags that matter, helping the legal industry's development of Generative AI, analytics and interoperability. At vLex Group — which includes Fastcase, NextChapter and Docket Alarm — he helps lead the design, development and expansion of various products, integrating AI-backed technologies (e.g., GPT) into a billion-document dataset from 100+ countries, all to improve legal workflows.
Morgan Smith
Morgan Smith is an associate attorney dedicated to assisting litigants, businesses, and insurers through the litigation process. Prior to joining the Rudnicki Firm, she was a member of an insurance defense firm, where she focused on nursing home defense and workers’ compensation. There, she gained experience in civil litigation by defending nursing homes, physicians and professional healthcare organizations against claims of medical negligence and wrongful death. Ms. Smith graduated from OU in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and international studies. While at OU, she served as chair of the Human Diversity Committee, president of the 2019 Class Council and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. After graduation, she continued her education at the TU College of Law, where she was the Speaker of the House for the Student Bar Association. During law school, she clerked for Supreme Court Justice Dana Kuehn and interned at the Bank of Oklahoma and Saint Francis Hospital System. In these positions, she gained experience in advising large corporations on state and federal compliance laws in healthcare and banking. Graduating with Highest Honors, Ms. Smith earned her J.D. 2022. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, puppy and friends. She loves the outdoors and cheering on her favorite team, the Sooners.
Travis Smith
Travis Smith is a 1979 graduate of the OU College of Law. He worked at Legal Aid of Western Oklahoma for 20 year and then at the Department of Human Services for 19 years, mostly handling Medicaid eligibility issues. He now practices elder law at Holmes, Holmes and Neisent PLLC. He has spoken at more than 70 CLE programs on topics including Social Security disability, Medicaid eligibility and public benefits.
Jordan Turk
Jordan Turk is a practicing attorney in Texas and is also the legal technology advisor at Smokeball. Her family law expertise includes appeals, pre and postnuptial agreements, as well as complex property division and highly contentious custody cases. In addition, Ms. Turk has given CLEs across the country on topics ranging from client relationships to proper trust account management. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in classics, history and religious studies. She then went on to attend the University of Arkansas School of Law to earn her J.D. After almost four years of practice with a high-asset family law firm in Houston, Ms. Turk discovered the world of legal technology, which ultimately brought her to Smokeball.
CLE events during the 2025 Oklahoma Bar Association Solo & Small Firm Conference will be held at the OKANA Resort: 639 First Americans Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73129.
All conference-related events will be held at OKANA and nearby venues in the Oklahoma City Horizons District.