The Oklahoma Bar Journal May 2026

for meaningful engagement with friends and colleagues.

EDUCATIONAL CONTENT The celebration of Law Day allows bar members to reaffirm their commitment to the rule of law, and we believe it is critical that all citizens understand this founda tional concept as well. This year, we have created new video content highlighting information about select legal topics in engaging, easy-to-understand language. The videos also feature several volun teer Oklahoma judges and lawyers from Wewoka and the Seminole County area discussing how Law Day got its start. These videos are optimized for viewing on social media and are being shared on the OBA’s channels, including YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. We expect these videos to reach hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans throughout the Law Day season, and they will live on as evergreen content that schools, civic groups and individual viewers can access at any time of the year. begin learning these important civic concepts so that even the youngest students are prepared to be good citizens of our state and nation. This year, nearly 1,150 students from 61 towns and more than 100 schools and homeschool groups entered the contest. More than $4,000 ART AND WRITING CONTESTS We believe it is never too early to

Lawyer John R. Hargrave, a Wewoka native, is interviewed for the OBA’s 2026 video programming. During his interview, Mr. Hargrave explained the historic roots of Law Day in Seminole County, which was conceived by Wewoka lawyer Hicks Epton 75 years ago.

take calls or answer questions sub mitted via email. The main phone banks are set up in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and this year, lawyers in Stilwell, Beaver, Hugo, Boise City, Ponca City, Purcell, Okmulgee, Miami and Stillwater served their communities by hosting Ask A Lawyer call-in events for at least part of the day. We hope you will consider par ticipating in this pro bono justice event in the future or coordinating and hosting a local event that will serve your community in 2027. This event is not only important – it is fun! Volunteering together provides a great opportunity

equal under the law. As we reflect on these principles, we should also take great pride in our state bar’s 50-year achievement in hosting the Ask A Lawyer community service event, sponsoring educational con tent aimed at public audiences and holding art and writing contests for Oklahoma students in pre-K through 12th grade. ASK A LAWYER Every year, on May 1, dozens of lawyer volunteers from around the state participate in this community service event, answering hundreds of legal questions at no cost. Phone banks of lawyers stand ready to

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL