08.16.11
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08.12.11
Pros 4 Vets Wins Beacon Award
The battle for American veterans does not end when they return home from war. Many heroes struggle with regaining a sense of normalcy and reintegrating into civilian life, often after experiencing immense trauma.
Oklahoma native and country music superstar Toby Keith has co-founded an organization in an attempt to raise awareness of the issues facing wounded vets. Pros 4 Vets brings together professionals from diverse backgrounds, including athletes, musicians, lawyers and doctors to raise awareness and provide continued and long-term support to the nation’s veterans.
“A lot of vets coming home don’t have resources to network or the proper legal help. This organization is set up so they can come to a one-stop shopping place and find what they need as far as benefits, and know what they have coming to them,” Keith said. “They also get advice, counseling and help. We’re going to try to start some chapters in other states, too.
” Keith’s involvement with Pros 4 Vets has helped the nonprofit receive national attention from the media and military communities, said Jeff Hargrave, director of operations of Pros 4 Vets.
“When a wounded vet comes home, he or she is rightly greeted with open arms. People come out of the woodwork to help,” Hargrave said. “However, as weeks go by, the ticker tape parade and help dwindles. But for the heroes, the battle at home rages on. Pros 4 Vets aims to provide continued support and a voice to speak on their behalf about issues they face.
“From free legal assistance to free medical clinics, Pros 4 Vets uses their talents to help vets,” he said. “By raising awareness and providing assistance, Pros 4 Vets aims to help soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries and substance abuse as well as decrease the numbers of homelessness and suicides among our nation’s veterans.”
Other Pros 4 Vets co-founders include Roy Williams, Tommie Harris, Mark Clayton, Reggie Whitten, Rachelle Whitten, Noah Roberts and Jay Mitchel.
10.11.2010
Oklahoma Lawyers Donate Professional Clothing to Local Adult Education Program
Lawyers from the Oklahoma Association for Justice donated a trailer full of professional clothing to The Education and Employment Ministry.
TEEM is a local interfaith, nonprofit organization that provides education, social services and job placement assistance to adults who are trying to better their lives.
The clothing presented Thursday, including more than 100 suits, will help clients of TEEM make a good first impression in job interviews, Michael Jackson, associate director of programs at TEEM, said in a news release.
The professional clothing drive is the kickoff to an ongoing partnership between TEEM and the Oklahoma Association for Justice.
At its winter meeting today, the group will present TEEM with a check for $5,000. In addition, members of the association will provide free legal advice to TEEM clients at legal clinics to be held throughout the year.
07.15.2010
Remote Area Medical® care worth about $420,000
Volunteers with Remote Area Medical Oklahoma, including several lawyers from Whitten Burrage, provided about $420,000 worth of free dental, vision and general medical care during Remote Area Medical Oklahoma’s free health care clinic July 9 - 11 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.
Care was assigned a value based on Medicare reimbursement rates, which are on the low end of the health care reimbursement spectrum.
In the organization's first event in Oklahoma, volunteers saw 1,635 individual patients for 2,497 individual services. Many patients received both dental and vision services, as well as women's health and general medical check-ups. RAM volunteers made 691 pairs of glasses over the three days of the event.
“Volunteer dentists extracted 1,342 teeth, filled 477 teeth and provided 216 cleanings. In total, 913 patients received dental care.
Several lawyers from Whitten Burrage serve on the RAM Oklahoma advisory board. Whitten Burrage also serves as general counsel for RAM Oklahoma. To learn more, please visit www.ramok.org.
06.21.2010
WB Law Helps Raise Funds for Free Medical Clinic
On June 19, 2010, several lawyers from Whitten Burrage participated in a bowling event to help raise money for RAM Oklahoma. RAM Oklahoma is a volunteer organization that will provide free dental, vision and general medical care to about 2,000 people from July 9 – 11, 2010 in the Travel & Transportation building of the Oklahoma State Fair Park. In addition to
raising money for RAM Oklahoma, lawyers from Whitten Burrage serve on the RAM Oklahoma advisory board and will be volunteering at the July event. Whitten Burrage also serves as general counsel for RAM Oklahoma. For more information about RAM Oklahoma, please visit their website: www.ramok.org.
06.11.2010
Reggie Whitten and Carin Marcussen Win Service Awards
On June 11, 2010, the Oklahoma County Bar Association held its annual Awards Luncheon. Reggie Whitten was presented with the Community Service Award for his dedication to helping others and thereby bringing credit to the legal profession. Reggie was specifically recognized for his important work through the Whitten-Newman Foundation and Pros for Africa, both of which are organizations that Reggie co-founded. Carin
Marcussen was presented with the Pro Bono Award for her outstanding legal service to those individuals whose needs are traditionally underserved. Carin was specifically recognized for her work with Oklahoma Lawyers for Children, where she has provided superior representation to children who are in state custody. Only ten awards were presented at this year’s luncheon, and Whitten Burrage was proud to have two of these awards go to members of the Firm.
05.20.2010
Adrian Peterson Travels to Africa
Adrian Peterson visits Uganda and South Africa for charity work and a
safari. View Here
05.18.2010
Storm Damage Checklist
Here's a checklist to help you with your insurance. First, protect the damage, then take pictures. Call your insurance company immediately. Next, wait for an adjuster to visit before you hire a roofer or bring your car
to the shop. Finally, the state insurance department says you should pay for all of it if it's close to the cost of your deductible.
View Here
04.05.2010
WB Attorneys Take Part In Mission Trip To Uganda
In a remote area in the heart of Africa, including parts of Uganda, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central Africa Republic, the inaptly named Lord’s Resistance Army wages a brutal and seemingly endless campaign against defenseless villagers, regularly seeking children to replenish military ranks. Its leader, Joseph Kony, a self-declared prophet of God, claims he is seeking to establish a theocracy predicated on the Ten Commandments, yet this regime’s tactics are anything but Christian. In the mid-1980’s, as a rebel faction overtook the Uganda government, former military personnel, primarily of the Acholi minority, retreated to northern Uganda and formed rebel bands. The LRA became the most extreme and enduring splinter group, but quickly alienated civilians, as its soldiers have raped, murdered and mutilated even those who shared religious, political ethnic and ethnic ties. On April 20, 1995, one day after our own mass tragedy, the LRA attacked Atiak, a large but underdeveloped city in rural Uganda. After overrunning government forces, the LRA forced a large group of civilians into the bush. There, the more than two-hundred men and boys over the age of thirteen were segregated from women, children and the elderly and systematically exterminated.
In the mid-2000’s, the Ugandan government launched a successful military offensive against the LRA, driving it out of northern Uganda. Rather than disbanding, the LRA simply found refuge in neighboring Sudan and began to carry out operations against softer targets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. After initially refraining from attacks against civilians in DRC, Kony ordered simultaneous Christmas Day 2008 attacks on three towns, killing more than 800 civilians, with machetes and clubs the weapons of choice and abducting over 160 children. In December 2009, the LRA again attacked several towns in northern DRC, this time posing as government soldiers to lure villagers to the city centers before killing some 300 or more and kidnapping another 80 children.
Despite the continuing threat posed by the LRA, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, a nun from Gulu, Uganda, saw a clear need. Young women who escaped LRA captivity were returning to find only more despair. Often their loved ones had been murdered during the raids in which they had been abducted. Other times, the families wanted nothing to do with their daughters, who as Sister Rosemary describes, were told "you are carrying the child of a murderer." In nearly every case, the girls had lost any opportunity at an education and had no means to support themselves or their children. In 2002, as the conflict intensified in northern Uganda, Sister Rosemary began inviting these refugees to St. Monica’s Girls Tailoring School. There they would learn vocational skills such as cooking and sewing, while regaining confidence and healing the emotional scars inflicted by their captors.
In 2002, Reggie Whitten, an Oklahoma City attorney, visited Sister Rosemary during a trip to Africa. Reggie is the driving force behind the Whitten-Newman Foundation, a private, family foundation in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The WNF was created in 2007 as way to honor the life, legacy and spirit of Brandon Whitten, whose life was tragically cut short by a motorcycle accident in 2002. The WNF’s primary focus is to change the lives of young people by offering them educational experiences while providing them with hope. As major part of this effort WNF seeks to inform young people about the dangers associated with drugs, alcohol and tobacco. The WNF has been largely successful in Oklahoma and recently decided to expand its operation abroad. While young people in
Africa are less susceptible to the temptations of drugs, alcohol or tobacco than young people in America, many young people in Africa have little or no money, few opportunities and little prospect for a brighter future. Indeed, many did not even have clean water or food to eat. After meeting with Sister Rosemary, the WNF chose to focus on northern Uganda, which, due to the activities of the LRA, the United Nations has labeled the worst place in the world for children. Clearly, Reggie saw, these children needed exactly what WNF wanted to provide – education and hope.
Since that time, WNF has been St. Monica’s biggest financial supporter; however, it was apparent that St. Monica’s and the people of northern Uganda could benefit from more than just financial support. WNF, along with several other organizations and professionals – doctors, lawyers, NFL players, among others – formed PROS FOR AFRICA, an organization dedicated to supplying material necessities, hope, help and love to disadvantaged African children. Reggie and others involved with PROS FOR AFRICA knew that the only way to truly affect those most in need was to actually put people on the ground where the need was the greatest.
The planning process for a trip to St. Monica’s began in the summer of 2009 and would stretch until March of 2010, when forty-eight Oklahomans would make the 24-hour plus connecting flights to reach Uganda. Extensive planning included the obvious travel arrangements, numerous emails, faxes and conference calls with contacts in Uganda and hundreds of vaccinations (a lucky few who had not travelled to Africa before received seven or eight each). The doctors – Al Moorad, Suben Naidu, Chris Carey and Rob Tibbs – worked tirelessly to secure necessary medications, substantially discounted or often free of charge. Water4, an Edmond non-profit organization, prepared and sent equipment for drilling water wells. Inspire Management Company and the professional football players – Tommie Harris, Adrian Peterson, Mark Clayton and Roy Williams – hosted a fundraiser at the governor’s mansion. KWTV 9 and KOTV 6 made sure the efforts received substantial television coverage. In addition to Reggie, Oklahoma Bar members Mike Hinkle, John Hargrave, Matt Kane and Jay Mitchel, were involved in a variety of capacities as needed in the preparations.
While only in northern Uganda for a few days, the effect was dramatic, for Ugandans and Oklahomans alike. One new well was completed and locals were trained on the equipment to continue drilling for water long after PROS FOR AFRICA had departed. Over 600 people were treated by the medical providers. Food and water-filtering straws were distributed to thousands. And many, many more enjoyed a day or two of pure enjoyment, playing games, and hearing stories. Likewise, those of us who made the trip had an opportunity to witness firsthand the incredible achievements being made on a daily basis at St. Monica’s. As Reggie best put it into words:
"If you ever have a bad day or think you have reason to give up, all you have to do is visit these children in Uganda. I can almost guarantee you’ll find a reason to stop feeling sorry for yourself. Many of the young women under Sister Rosemary's care have been kidnapped, mutilated, raped or tortured. Thanks to Sister Rosemary though, they now have hope, an opportunity for a bright future and many reasons to smile again.”
02.26.2010
WB Appointed General Counsel for RAM OK
Oklahoma City - About 2,000 people are expected to receive free dental, vision and general medical care at Remote Area Medical's® first Oklahoma expedition July 9 - 11 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds.
Remote Area Medical® (RAM) is a volunteer medical care organization that uses volunteer health professionals to provide free health care on a first-come, first-served basis regardless of income.
Licensed volunteer health practitioners from Oklahoma and other states will help RAM treat as many patients as possible at the event, which is being co-
sponsored by several Oklahoma health and service organizations. Care will be provided beginning at 6 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Oklahoma will be the sixth U.S. state to welcome RAM's "Reach Across AMerica" program.
As general counsel for RAM OK, Whitten Burrage Law Firm is honored to provide free legal assistance to such a great organization. Several members of the Firm will also be serving as volunteers to assist in providing health care to thousands of Oklahomans.
For more info, visit www.ramok.org
01.19.2009
WB Verdict Listed as 17th Largest in the Country in 2008
INJURIES/DAMAGES
The Burgesses, who suffered roof and interior damage from a 2000 storm that required more than three trades, claimed that a Farmers adjuster didn’t advise them of the policy benefit for general contractor’s overhead and profit, and failed to pay this policy benefit at the time of their ACV payment.
The couple claimed that they should have been paid approximately $2,000 for general contractor’s overhead and profit. The plaintiffs’ statistical and sampling expert estimated that the class suffered damages ranging from approximately $45 million to approximately $53.6 million in underpayments of general contractor’s overhead and profit. The average underpayment for each of the
approximately 76,825 policyholders who were underpaid general contractor’s overhead and profit is approximately $642.18. Class members sought an unspecified amount for punitive damages to be determined by jurors.
RESULT
The jury found that Farmers recklessly disregarded a duty to deal fairly and act in good faith with the plaintiffs, and that Farmers recklessly disregarded their rights. Farmers intentionally and with malice breached its duty to deal fairly and act in good faith with the plaintiffs, and that the insurance company acted intentionally and with malice toward class members. The class was awarded $130,000,000.00. It is believed to be the largest verdict in Oklahoma history. The following year Farmers Ins. Co. settled the case.