The Oklahoma Bar Journal August 2022

KUDOS Craig L. Box has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was inducted during the college’s spring meeting in Coronado, California. Founded in 1950, the college is composed of the best of the trial bar from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Fellowship is extended by invitation only, and lawyers must have a minimum of 15 years of trial experience before they can be considered. Mr. Box is a share holder at Gungoll, Jackson, Box & Devoll PC, where he has practiced for 38 years. Judge Amy J. Pierce has received the 2022 Graduate of Distinction in Agricultural Communications from OSU. This award was pre sented for outstanding service, leadership and professional accomplishments in agricultural communications and for bringing honor and recognition to the field of agriculture. Judge Pierce is the presiding district court judge for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and a 1996 graduate of OSU’s agri cultural communications program. 50th anniversary in May. Founded by four TU College of Law grad uates, the firm opened its doors at 1640 S. Boston in Tulsa in May 1974. Today the firm has grown to include offices in Oklahoma City and Englewood, Colorado. The more than 80 attorneys at the firm provide broad-based legal counsel and representation in all aspects of the law. Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis celebrated its

Michael C. Turpen of Oklahoma City was elected chairman of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education board. Also elected to the board as vice chairman was retired Oklahoma Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor of McAlester. Appointed to the State Regents in 2009 and reappointed in 2018, Mr. Turpen is a partner at the Oklahoma City law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis. He served as Muskogee County district attorney from 1977 until 1982 when he was elected Oklahoma attorney gen eral. Retired Justice Taylor, who was appointed in 2019, previously served as an associate district judge and chief judge of the 18th Judicial District. In over 20 years as a trial judge, he presided over more than 500 jury trials, includ ing the state trial of the Oklahoma City bombing. He is a former mayor of McAlester and served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a prosecutor, defense counsel and ultimately as a special court-mar tial judge. The new officer team will lead the nine-member board throughout the 2022-23 fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2023. Sharon Voorhees was reappointed by Mayor David Holt and the Oklahoma City Council as a Trustee for the Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust, with a term ending July 31, 2026. Ms. Voorhees is the founding partner of the Oklahoma City law firm of Voorhees & Voorhees PC, where she practices with her hus band. The firm’s practice includes probate, guardianship, real estate, estate planning and small business matters. Ms. Voorhees received her J.D. with honors from the OU College of Law in 1991.

Stephen W. Ray was elected president and managing partner of Hall Estill. He will be only the fifth managing partner in the firm’s 56-year history. Previous managing partner Mike Cooke is retiring after 20 years at the firm’s helm. Mr. Ray, who has been with the firm since 1992, will continue serving clients in the business and tax sectors, specifically dealing in business organizations and transactions, commercial finance, health care, executive compensa tion and securities, as well as trust and estate work. Sarah Hansel and Steve Soulé have joined Hall Estill’s executive committee. Ms. Hansel practices in the corporate and commercial and intellectual property sectors. Mr. Soulé, serving for the second time on the executive committee, practices in the areas of bank ruptcy litigation and transactions, workouts, reorganizations and creditor’s rights. He also handles general business and commercial transactions for clients. Sarah Miller, Moira Watson and Ken Williams were elected to Hall Estill’s Board of Directors. Ms. Miller joined the firm’s Energy and Natural Resources Practice Group in 2017. Her cur rent practice is focused on com mercial contracting, primarily in the energy industry. Ms. Watson joined the firm in 2016 and prac tices primarily in the areas of banking and commercial finance. Mr. Williams is a 40-year business defense attorney with expertise in environmental, municipal law, natural resources, real estate and renewable energy law.

76 | AUGUST 2022

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL