The Oklahoma Bar Journal January 2023

PRESIDENTIAL Q & A

Background: Born in Milwaukee; married to Ruslyn. Two daughters - Brianna, an illustrator living in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Charlcy, a church music director living in Stillwater; Mr. Hermanson is the district attorney for Kay and Noble counties and lives in Ponca City. Education: Graduated from college at Caroll College, recently renamed Caroll University, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with a double major in political science and history and a minor in business; received a J.D. from the OU College of Law; was president of the Student Bar Association, on the National Moot Court Team and inducted into the Order of the Barristers. Also served as governor of the ABA Law Student Division and received the Golden Key Award from the ABA. What is your most important goal during your service on the OBA Board of Governors? It is my hope that over the next year, we can regain some normalcy back after this long period of COVID. The Board of Governors will go out across the state this year to reengage with the lawyers throughout Oklahoma. My goal will be to reestab lish contact with our volunteers and strengthen our resolve to improve the practice of law and make it more enjoyable. Why is it important for OBA members to serve and volunteer? Some of my best memories about the practice of law revolve around the friends I have made through my volunteer work with the OBA. Legal work can be incredibly stressful, and we need to bring joy into our lives. I find the people who I have worked with in these volunteer activities bring so much fun and laughter into my life. Also, we need to have involved attorneys protecting the practice of law. It seems that we as a profession are under attack from many sides, and we need to be ready to do what we can to ensure the practice is robust. What challenges are OBA members encountering, and how can the OBA help find solutions? It seems that there is more and more stress in the practice of law. We have more and more demands in our daily work, and it seems that people are more and more aggressive in their dealing with their

fellow lawyers. We need to bring that professional ism back and, with the help of the courts, turn the courtrooms into an appropriate level of civility. What’s your favorite OBA member benefit? My favorite benefit is the Management Assistance Program. The help that it provides to the practicing lawyer is priceless. Every attorney needs to reach out to the program to learn what it can do to help your practice. What technology gadget could you not function without? I could not last five minutes without my iPhone. I find that I am doing more and more of my work on the iPhone. I do so much of my research on it as well as scheduling, meeting and, strangely enough, communicating. What’s the best book you’ve read this year? No time to read for fun. You are more likely to find me in front of the television at the end of the day.

38 | JANUARY 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL