Cody J. Cooper
The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) selected Attorney Cody Cooper as one of 22 emerging leaders in Oklahoma’s legal community to be members of the Oklahoma Bar Association Leadership Academy Class of 2016.
Participants have been selected from a pool of applicants spanning the state and will receive training in leadership, motivation and communication.
“I thought this would be a great opportunity to become more involved in the OBA, in general,” Cooper said. “I also see it as a good opportunity for personal growth, to expand my own knowledge and experience, and gain valuable leadership knowledge and skills.”
Originating from OBA’s Leadership Conference in 2007, the academy is aimed at developing the future leaders of the OBA by giving Oklahoma attorneys training in the core principles of effective leadership and how to communicate, motivate and succeed in their legal careers and as community leaders.
Fred A. Leibrock
“Almost all lawyers I know generously volunteer, serve and give of themselves,” Phillips Murrah Director Fred Leibrock said. “The OBA Leadership Academy helps train lawyers to sharpen their skills as community leaders. The Academy provides a great service not just to the Bar Association, but also to the communities in which Academy members live and practice. Cody Cooper is a brilliant young lawyer who has a servant’s heart. He’s a perfect fit with the Academy’s goal of preparing those who want to serve our profession, our bar and our state.”
The OBA Leadership Academy will include five sessions, the first of which is set for September 2015 and the academy will conclude with its fifth and final session in April 2016.
The first session in September will kick off the first half of the academy with Herb Rubenstein, nationally known for his course work and book on Leadership for Lawyers.
“They will get an inside look at what we do here in our administrative offices and about the various ways they can serve,” said Susan Krug, OBA Director of Educational Programs. “They will participate in the OBA Annual Meeting where they will learn more about the workings of the Bar Association, the Board of Governors, Committees, Divisions and Departments.
“They will hear from a panel of lawyers that were in previous leadership academies and learn about special projects sponsored by the Young Lawyers Division, Law Day, Oklahoma Lawyers for America’s Heroes and opportunities within the ABA.”
The second half of the academy focuses more on leadership in action at the state, court and community level, ethics, the importance of selecting an independent judiciary, and servant leadership/diversity and community and life balance, Krug said.
“Being a lawyer is a calling that carries with it obligations that transcend the mere delivery of services,” OBA President David Poarch said in a press release about the 2016 class selection. “The Oklahoma Bar Association’s Leadership Academy prepares those who want to serve our profession, our bar and our state by providing them with tools to help them better communicate, motivate and succeed.”
There will be a graduation ceremony in April where academy graduates will hear from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Reif, the 2016 President of the Board of Governors, Garvin Isaacs and Mike Turpen. The 2015-2016 group will be the sixth class to graduate from the academy.
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