The Oklahoma Association of Municipal Attorneys (OAMA) Fall Conference is happening November 14-15, 2024, at the Waterford Hotel in Oklahoma City. This premier event brings together municipal legal professionals for networking, learning, and discussing key legal issues facing municipalities. With expert speakers, informative sessions, and opportunities for connections, attendees will gain valuable insights and expand their professional networks. The conference offers a mix of legislative updates, roundtable discussions, and practical applications, all set against the backdrop of the elegant Waterford Hotel. It's a must-attend event for municipal attorneys looking to stay ahead in their field!

Registration closes November 13th!

DISCLAIMER: This conference is for attorneys representing OAMA Members (Oklahoma Municipalities). Any non-member who registers may not be permitted to enter. 

11:00 AM

• Board of Directors Meeting

11:30 AM

• Registration

12:00 PM

• Lunch & Ethics

  • Andrew Urich, J.D.

  • Oklahoma State University, Department of Management – Eastin Center Chair for Talent Development

    • Andrew L. Urich holds the Eastin Center Chair for Talent Development at Oklahoma State University, where he is an Associate Professor of Management in the Spears School of Business. He also serves as the Director of Student Development in the Eastin Center for Talent Development. Professor Urich was a member of the Executive MBA faculty at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from 2004 to 2012. Prior to joining the faculty at OSU, he practiced law with a major corporate law firm in Ohio. Since 1993 he has presented at well over 1,000 corporate training programs and conventions in the areas of Influence, Negotiation, Ethics, Critical Thinking and Professional Image. Andrew has presented to clients such as Bank of Oklahoma, Phillips 66, Chesapeake Energy, QuikTrip, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tyson Foods, Halliburton and the United States Air Force.

1:00 PM

• PFAS Litigation

  • Michael G. Stag

  • Partner, Stag Liuzza, New Orleans, Louisiana

1:50 PM

• Break

2:00 PM

• U.S. Supreme Court/10th Circuit Update

  • Amanda Karras

  • Executive Director / General Counsel, IMLA

    • Amanda Karras is the Executive Director / General Counsel of the International Municipal Lawyers Association. In this capacity, Ms. Karras oversees IMLA’s governance and staff.  Ms. Karras also oversees IMLA’s legal advocacy efforts with the United States Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and state appellate courts by reviewing and evaluating requests for IMLA’s amicus assistance, advising the legal advocacy committee regarding potential amicus cases and their significance to local government, coordinating case strategies with IMLA’s amicus authors, and drafting and revising amicus briefs. Ms. Karras has authored numerous amicus briefs including at the Supreme Court merits and petition stage as well as in federal circuit courts. Ms. Karras is a frequent speaker on the Supreme Court and local government legal trends in the federal courts. Additionally, Ms. Karras leads a number of working groups for IMLA on emerging issues. Ms. Karras has also co-taught a course on local government law at George Washington University Law School.  Prior to joining IMLA, Ms. Karras worked in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts, focusing on employment law and litigation, first with Ropes & Gray, LLP and later with Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP. Ms. Karras received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Colby College and earned her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, graduating magna cum laude. Ms. Karras served as an Articles Editor for the Suffolk University Law School Law Review. Ms. Karras is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, and the United States Supreme Court.

2:50 PM

• Break

3:00 PM

• Telecommunications Update

  • Michael Bradely

  • Bradley Werner

5:30 PM

• Reception

8:30 AM

• Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM

• Breaking Up with the City Manager

  • David Weatherford

  • Tulsa Area Attorney

    • David L. Weatherford is a Tulsa attorney with over 35 years of municipal attorney experience. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and Tulsa University College of Law.

      He has served as City Attorney for Sand Springs since, 2002 and for Mannford since 1998, representing the municipalities in a wide range of legal matters. Additionally, he has represented a number of other cities and towns in other capacities involving many government issues.

      He has contracted with Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG) for on-site elected official training since 2012.

    • Presentation Slides

9:50 AM

• Break

10:00 AM

• Handling an Emergency

  • John Dorman

10:50 AM

• Break

11:00 AM

• Weaponization of the Open Records Act

  • Chrisitan Rinehart

8:30 AM

• Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM

• Construction Manager at Risk Concerns Panel

  • Jami Blocker (facilitator)

  • Kimberly Carnley

  • Tammy Ewing

  • Hailey Rawson

  • Jordan Madaris

9:50 AM

• Break

10:00 AM

• Small Town Attorney Panel

  • Kim Spady

  • Amanda Mullins

  • John Tyler Hammons

10:50 AM

• Break

11:00 AM

• Municipal Litigation Update

  • Matt Love

  • OMAG

12:00 PM

• Luncheon, Keynote and Business Meeting

1:00 PM

• Roundtables

  • 1:00-1:30 Roundtable 1

  • 1:30-2:00 Roundtable 2

  • 2:00-2:30 Roundtable 3

  • 2:30-2:45 Break

  • 2:45-3:15 Roundtable 4

    • Managing Cyber Attacks

      • Zach Oubre, McAfee & Taft

    • Tackling the Unhoused

      • Komron Takmil & Hayes Martin

    • Employment Law Update

      • Monica Coleman, OMAG

    • TIF’s

      • Nathan Ellis, The Public Financial Law Group, PLLC

    • Economic Development Contracts

      • Kathryn Walker, The Center for Economic Law Group

    • Law Enforcement Update

      • Lawson Vaughn, City of Tulsa

    • PFAS Litigation

      • Michael G. Stag, Stag Liuzza, New Orleans, Louisiana

    • Franchising

      • Mike Bradley

    • Words of Wisdom

      • Jack Love

    • Municipal Hospitals

      • Cori Loomis, McAfee & Taft

    • “New-ish” Attorneys

      • Jon Miller, City Attorney, Mustang

    • PFAS

      • Michael G. Stag, Stag Liuzza, New Orleans, Louisiana

3:15 PM

• Route 66 Municipal Family Feud

  • Hosted by Jeff Bryant, OMAG

    • Ray Jones

      • Ray Jones is a director at Lytle, Soule and Felty. He is the municipal attorney for the City of Bethany and the City of Lindsay. Ray is a 2004 graduate of OCU Law and has spent his entire legal career providing services to the political subdivisions of Oklahoma. 

    • Darren Cook

      • Darren Cook is the City Attorney for Grove Oklahoma and will assume the role of City Manager in 2025.  Before moving to the Grand Lake area he spent 15 years in private practice at the Oklahoma City firm of Helms Underwood & Cook, where he focused on commercial litigation and class actions. Darren serves on several boards including the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, the Grand Gateway Economic Development Association and the Grove Rotary Club.  In his spare time, he enjoys serving as a leader for Boy Scout Pack #1005.

    • Kimberley Carnley

      • Kimberly Carnley is the City Attorney for the City of Stillwater. Carnley was appointed City Attorney in 2022 after previously serving as Assistant City Attorney in Stillwater since 2016. Carnley has dedicated her legal career to public service having previously worked at the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office as an Assistant Attorney General and at the Oklahoma Tax Commission as an Assistant General Counsel. Carnley received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kansas in 2007 and her Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 2013.

    • Madeline Sawyer

      • City Attorney, City of Edmond (1/2024 – present)

        Assistant City Attorney, City of Edmond (7/2021 – 1/2024)

        Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude; Oklahoma City University School of Law (5/2020)

        The Eras Tour; Denver Night 1 Attendee (7/2023)

    • John Andrew

      • John Andrew currently serves as the City Attorney for Lawton, Oklahoma. He is a member of the OAMA Board of Directors and he also does a little bit of legal work for board and card gaming companies. He is married to Lindsey and they have a seven year old named McKenna.

    • Monica Coleman

      • Monica Coleman is the General Counsel/Director of Personnel Services at the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG). Prior to joining OMAG in December of 2018, Ms. Coleman served the City of Oklahoma City for over 28 years as an Assistant Municipal Counselor and as the Assistant Personnel Director. During her tenure with the City of Oklahoma City, Ms. Coleman worked exclusively in the areas of labor and employment.

        Ms. Coleman received her Juris Doctorate from Oklahoma City University in 1990, after receiving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Management from Oklahoma State University. Ms. Coleman is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

    • David Widdoes

      • David is a native of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, where he danced, drummed, and debated his way through school all while harboring the secret desire to be a successful standup comedian.  

        He's also a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, where he was part of its nationally competitive NDT program and self-professed quarters champion.  

        David then attended Oklahoma City University School of Law as a Hatton Sumners Scholar, and after graduating with some distinction, has been “acting” as Sapulpa’s City Attorney since 1999.  

        But don't let this significant tenure fool you --- David remains a man of many talents, quirks, and dare we say --- borderline personalities. 

        In his spare time, David shares his experiences as an adjunct professor of Criminal Evidence in the Criminal Justice Degree program at Tulsa Community College --- and his students seem to enjoy most of the probative topics David shares , except maybe for all that personal alien abduction stuff.   

        And in his spare, spare time, David moonlights as a telecom lawyer for a local fiber optic company he started 10 years ago, so his only “real” friend could continue to play online games with him from nowhere Creek County, Oklahoma.   

        All that to say this--- when David’s not trying making people laugh, he’s  CRYING   --- NO that’s a joke--- he stays busy representing the City of Sapulpa in all legal matters and has a lot of experience in the myriad of topics municipal attorneys face every day. He's also a doting father to his two adult daughters and a loving husband to his wife, Gloria. 

        So, whether he's in the courtroom, classroom, ballroom, or even the bathroom sometimes, David R. Widdoes is a proven City Attorney and dare we say --- licensed entertainer!

    • Ricky Knighton

      • Rickey J. Knighton II is the Interim City Attorney for the City of Norman, Oklahoma. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma in 1996. He began his relationship with the Norman City Attorney’s Office during his second year in law school as a volunteer mediation coordinator. Rick was hired as a legal intern in the Norman City Attorney’s Office in 1997 and was later hired as a full-time Assistant City Attorney I. Rick was promoted to Assistant City Attorney II in 2000, Assistant City Attorney III in 2012, and Interim City Attorney in 2024.  He is a certified mediator, has served on the Board of Governors for the Oklahoma Bar Association, and as an at-large member on the Cleveland County Bar Association's Executive Board.  Rick is licensed to practice in the United States Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and all Oklahoma courts.  He also serves as municipal court judge for the City of Moore and the Town of Forest Park, and appeared as an extra in two episodes of Reservation Dogs.

3:45 PM

• Conclusion