The Oklahoma Bar Journal May 2023

purpose and should continue to grow.” Funds from the IOLTA pro gram dedicated to providing legal representation to the poor gave the foundation a new and important way to make an impact. The need for legal help in Oklahoma communities began to mount during the 1990s, with 1991 OBF President Terry Kern of Ardmore sounding the warning that “agencies serving the public in the legal arena are struggling to keep up with the ever-increasing caseloads of poverty level individ uals.” The need for IOLTA grants was growing. As the 1990s ended, it became clear that IOLTA remittals had been dwindling for years. An OBF financial report from 2000 noted that in the future, awards would have to be limited “due to the decline in income reflective of the current state of the econ omy and lower interest rates.” In 2002, $216,225 remittals were about one-third less than the 1998 $351,900 remittals, and 2003 remittals were predicted to be less than $200,000. Other events converged to create concern, including the col lapse of the dot-com bubble and the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Also, a series of accounting scandals at major U.S. corporations caused the economy to swing sharply down ward. The OBF also had to face the fact that Oklahoma’s volun tary IOLTA program was under performing. Oklahoma lagged far behind most other states in the number of accounts opened by attorneys and in the amount of interest financial institutions paid on those accounts. GROWING NEEDS

Sculptor Jo Saylors, OBA Executive Director Marvin C. Emerson and 1990 OBF President Jon H. Trudgeon discuss the “Lady of Justice” statue unveiled in the atrium of the Oklahoma Bar Center in June 1991. Courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.

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