Oklahoma pays law firms $24M

Here’s a list of the firms and what they were paid by state agencies during the past three fiscal years, according to payment records from the Office of State Finance.

Davis Graham & Stubbs, $945,852

A Denver-based firm that worked with the state’s police and firefighters pension and retirement system tax documents and has represented the retirement system in court. The Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System does have staff attorneys, and assistant attorneys general did not have expertise in IRS law, the attorney general’s office said.

McAfee & Taft, $904,494

The law firm is one of the largest in the Southwest and has had several state contracts, including contracts with CompSource Oklahoma, Regents for Higher Education and the University Hospital Authority.

Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison and Lewis, $785,547

The firm includes former Attorney General Michael Turpen and James Orbison, chairman of the Lottery Commission. The firm has had contracts with the Department of Human Services, state Banking Department, Transportation Department, Health Care Authority and others.

Phillips, McFall, McCaffrey, McVay and Murrah, $475,009

This Oklahoma City law firm, now named Phillips Murrah, has had contracts to do work for the law enforcement and firefighters retirement fund, CompSource Oklahoma and the Department of Environmental Quality over the past three years. Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, is an "of counsel” member of this firm and does not receive compensation from the firm.

Ryan, Whaley, Coldiron, Shandy, $239,198

The Oklahoma City law firm has had contracts to do work for the Transportation Department, Grand River Dam Authority and the Tax Commission. The firm includes former U.S. Attorney Patrick Ryan, who prosecuted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

The amounts are projected by the agency and may not reflect how much attorneys actually receive. The attorney general does not track the amount, just the total an agency spends on outside private counsel, said Susan Noland, who oversees the division of the attorney general’s office.

Slover & Loftus

The Washington, D.C.-based firm specializes in law that regulates transportation, energy and fuel supply. The firm had a contract with the Grand River Dam Authority. Private attorneys were hired because assistant attorneys general did not have legal expertise in this area, the attorney general’s office said.

Jenkens & Gilchrist

The now-defunct Dallas law firm did work on behalf of the Transportation Department, defending the agency in a contract claim of more than $4 million on a privatization maintenance contract investigated by the multicounty grand jury in 2006. The law firm went out of business in 2007 after being investigated for fraudulent tax shelters.

Holloway & Monaghan

The Tulsa-based law firm specializes in real estate, business litigation, condemnation and land-use litigation. The firm has worked for the Transportation Department on legal proceedings to buy private property for highway projects. The attorney general’s office said its attorneys did not have sufficient expertise for this work.

Conner & Winters

The Tulsa-based law firm specializes in energy, real estate, health care and aviation and airlines law. The firm did work for the Oklahoma Tax Commission and assisted commission attorneys at trial for the past three years.

Davis Graham & Stubbs

The Denver-based firm has worked on the state’s police and firefighters pension and retirement system tax documents.

Tom R. Gann

The Tulsa attorney has done condemnation work for the Transportation Department.

Taylor, Burrage, Foster, Mallett, Downs & Ramsey

The Claremore-based firm includes former state representative and Sen. Stratton Taylor and current state Sen. Sean Burrage, D-Claremore. The firm had a contract with the Grand River Dam Authority on condemnation proceedings in a floodplain in Ottawa County.

Fogg, Fogg and Handley

The El Reno law firm has worked on condemnation proceedings to acquire private property for a highway project.

William Bailey Cook, III

The Ada attorney has worked for the Transportation Department on condemnation proceedings.

Phillips, McFall, McCaffrey, McVay and Murrah

Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison and Lewis

Ryan, Whaley, Coldiron, Shandy

The Oklahoma City law firm has had contracts to do work for the Transportation Department, Grand River Dam Authority and the Tax Commission.

Lynn A. Mundell

The Tulsa attorney has had contracts to do condemnation work for the Transportation Department.

McAfee & Taft

The law firm is one of the largest in the Southwest and had several state contracts, including contracts with CompSource Oklahoma, Regents for Higher Education and the University Hospital Authority.

Holladay & Chilton

Oklahoma City firm has done work on condemnation projects for the Transportation Department.

Julie Bisbee, capitol bureau and Paul Monies, database editor