The Oklahoma Bar Journal October 2024

OBA: Promoting Justice F rom T he P resident By Miles Pringle

F OR ITS AUGUST MEETING THIS YEAR, THE OBA Board of Governors met in Ardmore to develop a new strategic plan. The board was welcomed by the Carter County Bar Association and worked with key members of the OBA staff to make meaningful deci sions about the OBA and its future. This process has been years in the making. Under the leadership of 2022 OBA President Jim Hicks, the association conducted a significant member survey to gauge membership priori ties and concerns. Under the leadership of President Brian Hermanson in 2023, the OBA conducted addi tional surveys centered around technology and the Annual Meeting. As your president in 2024, we have continued to move forward – creating action plans based on your feedback. The final version of the plan will be presented for approval at this month’s board meeting, but I am happy to share some of the big-picture themes. As our mem bers know, the OBA is a mandatory bar association with

administration of justice through education and regulation. The core values of the OBA are 1) ethical representation, 2) member involvement and 3) dedicated leadership. Ethical representa tion is embodied by serving the public interest with integrity. Member involvement is demon strated by fostering participation through the recognition of different experiences and perspectives within our profession. Dedicated leadership means providing accountability and vision for the organization. There are three main areas of focus: 1) the members, 2) the organization and 3) the administration of justice. The OBA will support members by investing in the pro fessionalism, resiliency and competency of Oklahoma attorneys. We will strengthen the organization with a mindset of excellence, efficiency and long-term sustainability, and we will use evidence-based decisions to drive our future. The OBA will improve the admin istration of justice by advancing the rule of law and the public trust in the legal system. We developed nine goals with many objec- tives to accomplish each. One goal is to develop a comprehensive approach to address the various career stages and requirements of our members. Focused on the future: The OBA Board of Governors and bar staff directors gather in Ardmore for a strategic planning retreat to define the association’s vision, mission and core values.

its rules creating and controlling and bylaws promulgated by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The preamble to our rules sets out many ambitious goals, such as advancing the administration of justice; fos tering members with high ideals of integrity, learning, competence and public service; preventing the unau thorized practice of law; and encour aging practices that will advance the honor and dignity of the legal pro fession. The board and staff distilled those goals into its vision statement. THE VISION: PROMOTING JUSTICE Step one of the strategic plan ning process involved articulating our vision: “Promoting Justice.” Our association will implement this vision through focusing on our mission, defined as advancing the

Miles Pringle is executive vice president and general counsel at The Bankers Bank in Oklahoma City. 405-848-8877 mpringle@tbb.bank

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL