The Oklahoma Bar Journal December 2023

Thank You! F rom T he P resident By Brian Hermanson

T HE YEAR 2023 IS COMING TO A CLOSE, AND with it is the end of my term as OBA president. The time has flown by so fast, and this is my last president’s article for the Oklahoma

Another goal was to have the OBA travel throughout the state and meet with local bar associations. We met with the Tri-County Bar Association in south

Bar Journal . This is a good time to look back over the year and see all that has happened during my term as president. There were several goals that I set forth at the beginning of this year. First and foremost, I wanted to emphasize the need for profes sionalism and civility

east Oklahoma as well as with the local asso ciations in Cleveland, Kay, Muskogee and Oklahoma counties. We met with district attorneys from across the state as well as attended events in Bryan, Garfield, Pittsburg and Tulsa counties, along with many other locations across Oklahoma.

And we were there for each of you to provide the guidance and support necessary for each of us to practice as attorneys in such a rough-and-tumble world.

We tried to make access to the OBA easier by addressing the difficulty of persons with disabilities entering the building. Meetings were held, a plan has been developed, and we are hopeful that in 2024, there will be a new and improved access for everyone wanting to go to the Oklahoma Bar Center. Of course, we attended meetings across the country representing our state bar and tried to bring back ideas that will help all of us improve our association. The work of the OBA never stops, and we are always trying to meet the needs of our membership. Dormant committees were reenergized, and the new Animal Law Section was approved by the Board of Governors. We fought to ensure lawyers followed the Rules of Professional Conduct and that the public was aware of the wonderful things we, as lawyers, do to improve our communities and the state of Oklahoma. There were many other things done that are too numerous to mention.

in all things we do as attorneys. Our ethical standards demand that each of us meet high standards of profes sionalism in everything we do. With the help of the OBA

Professionalism Committee under the outstanding leadership of OBA Vice President Ken Williams, the message of how important professionalism is in our daily activity has been shared with each of you. Not only has the commit tee shared lessons on professionalism, but they traveled the state speaking on the topic. They presented a CLE at the OBA Annual Meeting and kept the idea at the forefront of our thoughts. We have also had presentations on the topic from the likes of retired Justice Steven W. Taylor, who presented an outstanding keynote speech during the recent OBA Annual Luncheon. During every Board of Governors meet ing, we took time to have a presentation on professionalism, and I have also tried to spread the news in my president’s articles throughout the year.

Brian Hermanson serves as district attorney for the 8th District of Oklahoma. 580-362-2571 brian.hermanson@dac.state.ok.us

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL