The Oklahoma Bar Journal August 2025

B ench & B ar B riefs

ON THE MOVE A. Grant Schwabe has joined the Tulsa office of Pray Walker as an associate. He has experience in commercial litigation, repre senting clients in banking and financial services litigation, real estate transactions, construction disputes, oil and gas matters and labor and employment law. In addition to his trial experience, Mr. Schwabe has represented cli ents in over 60 appeals, ranging from cases before the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals and the Oklahoma Supreme Court to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. Tara A. LaClair , Jennifer N. Lamirand and Bruce W. Day have joined the new Oklahoma City office of Bressler, Amery & Ross. Ms. LaClair is a principal and trial lawyer with a focus on financial institutions and secu rities litigation. She practices in the areas of financial services and securities litigation. She also handles complex and general litigation, representing insurance companies in bad faith litigation and claims litigation, as well as trust companies and fiduciaries. She is also licensed to practice in California and Michigan. Ms. LaClair received her J.D. from the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and her LL.M. in securities and financial institution regu lation from Georgetown Law. Ms. Lamirand is a principal and focuses her practice on litigation in the areas of tribal law, federal Indian law, gaming, securities, contracts and insurance defense. She serves as an associate justice

University before her tenure as the state chancellor. She was the first woman and ninth overall chancel lor of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Ms. Garrett received her J.D. from the TU College of Law and her LL.M. from Georgetown Law. While earning her LL.M., she worked in private practice and served as a staff attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She is also licensed in Arkansas. counsel. He has more than 50 years of legal experience, with a focus on complex business litigation and trust and estate disputes. He has served as counsel to the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners for more than four decades and has acted as an adjunct settlement magis trate for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma since 2008. Jordan L. Clapp , Nicholas N. Hartman and Michael D. Orcutt have joined the Tulsa law firm of Atkinson, Brittingham, Gladd, Fiasco & Edmonds as associ ates. Ms. Clapp received her J.D. with highest honors from the TU College of Law in 2023. While in law school, she was a recipient of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation W.B. Clark Memorial Scholarship and CALI awards in Writing Seminar: Steal this Seminar and Public Defender Clinic and was a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity. She practices civil liti gation. Mr. Hartman received his J.D. with highest honors from the Patrick H. Kernan has joined Helton Law Firm in Tulsa as of

on the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Supreme Court and volunteers and provides pro bono services for Oklahoma Indian Legal Services and the Public Counsel of Los Angeles. Ms. Lamirand is also licensed in California. She received her J.D. from the Notre Dame Law School and her LL.M. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Mr. Day is of counsel and has a national practice in securities and health care litigation and public policy matters. He works closely with the firm’s Labor & Employment and Energy & Natural Resources practice groups. Allison Garrett has joined the Oklahoma City office of Spencer Fane LLP as an of counsel attor ney in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group. She will focus on the firm’s higher education practice. Most recently, Ms. Garrett served as chancellor for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, where she over saw 25 public colleges and uni versities and their local governing boards, informed higher education policy, advocated for funding and more. She also worked as gen eral counsel and vice president of Walmart Stores Inc.’s corporate division and later as vice presi dent of the corporation’s benefits compliance and planning. Upon shifting to higher education, she served as an associate professor of law at Faulkner University, senior vice president for academic affairs at OCU, executive vice president of Abilene Christian University and president of Emporia State

90 | AUGUST 2025

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL