The Oklahoma Bar Journal February 2025

B ar F oundation N ews

What Lawyers Get Right: Partnering To Make a Difference Through the OBF From the OBF President

By Jim Dowell

I RECENTLY SAW A SURVEY that indicated the majority of law school students choose to attend law school because they want to advocate for social justice and help others. If we asked nonlawyers what they think of the legal profession, we would likely find that the perception of lawyers does not align with the goals of law students. Instead, we might hear a lot of unflattering jokes about lawyers. Often, the negative societal perception of lawyers is based on a misunderstanding of what we do. When a prior OBF president asked me several years ago to serve on the OBF board, one statement he made caught my attention. He said the OBF is “something that lawyers

juvenile detention centers in western Oklahoma. I know from my experience in law enforce ment many years ago that these juvenile detention centers used to be cold, harsh jails for kids who often ended up in these facilities repeatedly. Western Plains, with the assistance of OBF grants, has transformed these facilities so they provide troubled children, who are in this program pursuant to court order, with counseling, education and tools to give them a real chance at a new life. Their goal is to never see these children in detention again. There are similar stories from across the state, both in urban and rural areas. Some OBF grant ees provide services for abused children and victims of domestic abuse. Some provide diversion ser vices to help people get out of the criminal justice system and lead productive lives. Others provide legal services to people who have no ability to hire a lawyer. Still others provide crucial services for refugees and immigrants. For a full list of grantees, I encour age you to visit the OBF website, www.okbarfoundation.org. I have seen employees of many of these grantees with tears in their eyes, describing the lives they impact, and each of them is enormously

get right.” At the time, I had no idea how true that statement was. Every year, the OBF awards grants to numerous nonprofits throughout the state that provide a variety of law-related services to people in need. In 2024, the OBF awarded $2 million in grants to more than 50 nonprofits. I am repeatedly struck by the incredible work of these grantees and their passion for helping others. One of the OBF grantees I am most familiar with is Western Plains Youth & Family Services, which is headquartered in my hometown of Woodward. In addition to operating a youth and family shelter and providing many other community services, Western Plains also operates

The legal community can do great good if we work together, and there is much work to be done. So please partner with us as we continue to be something lawyers get right.

62 | FEBRUARY 2025

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL