The Oklahoma Bar Journal May 2023

O klahoma L egal H istory

The History and Impact of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation By Renee DeMoss and Bob Burke

T HE HISTORY OF THE OKLAHOMA BAR FOUNDATION will always be intertwined with the history of the Oklahoma Bar Association and the dynamic evolution of the legal profession in Oklahoma.

the glad hand, renewing old comradeships ... and that is about all that has been accomplished, except to give some lawyer who had recently lost a case an oppor tunity to cuss the court while his opposing counsel sat by and enjoyed his vilification and vitu peration without uttering a word and little realizing that such procedure was eating out the very foundation of government itself by shaking the confidence of the uninformed layman in the judiciary. In the 1930s, the Legislature tried to exert further influence over the bar by dictating who could be a lawyer. The 1937 Legislature passed a bill that permitted anyone who had served three terms in the Oklahoma Legislature to practice law, without requiring them to have either obtained a law school education or passed a bar exam. In vetoing the bill, Gov. E. W. Marland told legislative leaders, “I would be willing to sign such a bill if you

all attorneys to join as members to practice in the state. It established minimal educational requirements for licensed attorneys and created a “Board of Governors,” which had the authority to discipline attor neys, subject to the approval of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. For the first two decades of statehood, constant public squab bling characterized the relationship between the bar and the judiciary. After the Legislature passed the 1929 law that created the State Bar of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles W. Mason seized the opportunity to take one final jab at the former voluntary bar for its behavior and criticism of judges: The bar association of this state, prior to this time, has been a vol untary organization and while some good has been accom plished, the state conventions have been very largely social affairs. The lawyers have often come together, giving each other

The predecessor of the OBA was formed in 1904 when associations of attorneys in the separate Oklahoma and Indian territories merged. Membership in the group was vol untary. Those working as attorneys were not required to have any for mal legal education. Many “read the law” by learning and observing in a law office or simply started taking on clients in the territories. On the horizon was Oklahoma statehood. Attorneys were begin ning to flex their muscles as Oklahoma became a state in 1907. A struggle emerged over who would control the practice of law in the new state. The Legislature was generally in charge, but several governors battled for the power to make rules on who was qualified to be a lawyer and how they would be disciplined for any wrongdoing. In 1929, the Oklahoma Legislature took a major step to gain control of the practice of law by enacting a statute that created a formal attor ney organization called the “State Bar of Oklahoma.” This required

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL