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I represented national property and casualty insurance companies as coverage counsel, including federal and state litigation. I also handled numerous appeals to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Litigator; Tried the case of Shinn v. HCA with G. Durbin & G. Mullins to an $18 million verdict in November 2006As a senior associate at Durbin Larimore and Bialick, P.C., I maintained a civil litigation practice. In this capacity, I prepared for and participated in numerous civil trials in state and federal court, including a negligence action in state court I tried with two other colleagues that resulted in an $18 million plaintiffs’ verdict for our clients that was upheld by the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and, ultimately, by the United States Supreme Court, which denied Certiorari. I defended a negligence action in state court with one other colleague, resulting in a defense verdict for our corporate client. I also prepared for and participated in a significant motion practice in Oklahoma County District Court and participated in oral arguments before the Oklahoma Supreme Court Referees in civil appeals and writs of mandamus and prohibition. I prepared civil appellate briefs filed with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and briefs filed in the federal trial courts, attended, took, and defended depositions, conducted client interviews, and prepared witnesses for trial.

Following my tenure at Durbin Larimore and Bialick, I became an Assistant Attorney General in the General Counsel Section. I served as General Counsel for the Oklahoma Consumer Credit Commission, where I prosecuted administrative enforcement proceedings under Oklahoma’s Administrative Procedures Act and advised the CCC’s Administrator, Mr. Don Hardin, on agency issues. I prepared for hearings and trial of enforcement cases before the Administrator, prepared orders and appeals concerning same, participated in arbitration and settlement proceedings of disputes, evaluated the evidence of possible violations by entities the CCC regulated, and ultimately determined whether to file an enforcement action against the entities under the CCC’s jurisdiction.During my tenure as General Counsel for the Consumer Credit Commission, I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle on the Oklahoma River Trail and severely injured. My recovery from the injuries I suffered presented a true challenge. As a result, I made the decision to resign as an Assistant Attorney General. This was a difficult decision because I enjoyed my work as well as my colleagues in the Attorney General’s Office and at the CCC. When my body healed, I took a position as an independent contractor/attorney for Derryberry & Naifeh, LLP, where I performed legal research and writing, trial preparation, and other aspects of a litigation practice. Over the years, this position developed into an Of Counsel association with Derryberry & Naifeh, LLP which is the position I hold today.

As Justice Winchester’s staff lawyer from February 2000 to December 31, 2005, I prepared many Opinions for Justice Winchester and the Oklahoma Supreme Court,, as well as numerous Dissenting and Concurring Opinions for Justice Winchester. I reviewed and evaluated the appellate briefs, trial court records, and then conducted my own independent research concerning the issues presented on appeal. I submitted my recommendations to Justice Winchester concerning the outcomes of the cases assigned and prepared his Opinions, consistent with his determinations of the law.

I devoted the better part of a decade to a career as a stay-at-home mom, during my daughter’s formative years. When Caroline entered grade school, I began private practice as a self-employed attorney, specializing in legal research and writing, and trial preparation. I was a contract lawyer who wrote numerous state, federal, and appellate briefs and motions for Oklahoma City attorneys, some of which bore my name, and some of which did not. I continued in this capacity until February 2000, when Justice James R. Winchester was appointed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court and hired me as his staff lawyer.

I elected to return to the federal court, to finish a clerkship for the Hon. William J. Holloway, Jr., U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, that became available when his law clerk left early. In this capacity, I wrote Orders and appellate opinions, not only for Judge Holloway but also Orders for several federal district court judges, including Judge Ralph Thompson, Judge David Russell, and Judge Wayne Alley, who had been my law school dean. I also wrote a Memorandum to Judge Alley dated April 19, 1990, concerning Relevant Cases arising under Gomez v. United States, U.S. 109 S.Ct. 2237, 104 L.Ed.2d 923 (1989), addressing the “additional duties” section of the Federal Magistrates Act, which does not permit courts to assign magistrates the role of presiding at the selection of a jury in a felony trial, and which has spawned numerous Circuit opinions dealing with related issues of consent and retroactive application. It was a wonderful conclusion to that chapter of my legal career and the clerkship ended just a few weeks prior to my daughter’s birth.

Upon graduation from law school, I served as a law clerk for the Hon. Lee R. West, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. As Judge West’s law clerk, I read all the filings in his cases, including original civil actions, criminal actions, and bankruptcy appeals. During my tenure, I became adept at environmental law issues, because this was during the time that CERCLA and the Superfund issues were ripening. I clerked the Hardage-Criner case, No. CIV-86-1401-W, one of the first Superfund cases and a seminal one that involved 36 defendants. Many of Judge West’s Orders in this case, all of which I wrote, are published in West Publishing Company’s Federal Supplement 2d and West’s Federal Rules Decisions. I conducted independent research and then drafted memoranda to Judge West regarding the results of my legal research on the issues involved in his civil and criminal cases and in his bankruptcy appeals. I sat in on his weekly status conferences with attorneys in his civil cases, which varied in number from 10 – 25 cases each Wednesday. I also had the privilege of watching Judge West conduct settlement negotiations in civil cases, sitting in as he spoke with both plaintiffs and defendants. During non-jury trials, I sat in the courtroom under the bench, with Judge West, where I kept notes on arguments made by the attorneys during trial, for use when I drafted Judge West’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. During jury trials (civil and criminal), I met with attorneys on both sides to prepare agreed-upon jury instructions, holding my own jury instruction conferences with them. I sat out with countless juries during their deliberations to serve evidentiary or personal needs that arose, and to deliver notes to the Court from the jurors. My experiences with juries, both in and out of the courtroom, have proven extremely helpful to my litigation practice.

I maintained a federal civil litigation practice with an emphasis on environmental, oil and gas, and business litigation while a young lawyer at Murrah & Davis (now Phillips Murrah). I regularly appeared in court, argued motions, drafted and filed briefs, and traveled as far as NYC and Midland, TX, for depositions, witness interviews, and other discovery efforts. When I became pregnant with my daughter, I elected to return to the federal court to finish a clerkship for the Hon. William J. Holloway, Jr., U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, that became available when his law clerk left early.