Happy International Women's Day!

As a woman-led and founded firm, we’re used to seeing women in law every day!

It has not always been common practice for women to join the bar: it took centuries to get here.

How many legendary women in law can you name?

• Margaret Brent: first woman lawyer in the American colonies in 1648

• Arabella Mansfield: first woman to be admitted to a state bar in 1869

• Ada Kepley: first woman to graduate from an American law school in 1870

• Charlotte Ray: first Black woman lawyer and first woman admitted to the District of Columbia bar in 1872

• Belva Lockwood: first woman admitted to the United States Supreme Court Bar in 1879

• Florence Allen: first woman to serve as a state supreme court justice in 1920

• Sandra Day O’Connor: first female justice for the United States Supreme Court in 1981

• Alma Bell Wilson: first woman to serve on the Oklahoma Supreme Court (and later the first female Chief Justice of the same) in 1982

• Janet Reno: first woman to serve as a United States Attorney General in 1993

This is just a small sample of the many bright minds and pioneering spirits who blazed a trail through the traditionally male-dominated field of law. We are so grateful to the women who have paved the way for us and generations to come!

While progress has been made, there are more paths to forge ahead.

It is estimated that approximately half of law firm associates are female, but the numbers are halved when it comes to equity and managing partners. TRF intends to be part of this changing!

Celebrating 8 Years of Excellence at The Rudnicki Firm!

As we mark our 8th anniversary, we’re reflecting on the journey that has brought us here—a path shaped by our firm values: Integrity, Excellence, Fortitude, Appreciation, and Ingenuity. From courtroom victories to community engagement, TRF takes pride in what we’ve built together.

Legal Accolades & Achievements

Our attorneys have been honored by multiple organizations during our eight years. Here are just a few of the awards for which our team has received recognition:

Firm:
Best Law Firms in America©, Oklahoma City

·       Tier 1 for Commercial Litigation, 2023 - 2025

·       Tier 1 for Oil and Gas, 2025

·       Tier 2 in Energy Law, 2022 - 2025

The Journal Record

·       2024 Recipient of “Empowering Women” award

·       2023 Reader Rankings – Top 5 Civil Litigation Firms in Oklahoma City

Acquisition International (AI) Legal Awards

·       2022 Leading Women-Owned Litigation Firm 2022 – Southern USA

 Attorneys:
Best Lawyers, Oklahoma City

·       Johnny Blassingame, 2024 – 2025, Commercial Litigation

·       Caroline Lewis, “Ones to Watch”, 2023 – 2024, Commercial Litigation and Energy Law

·       JulieAnn Robison, “Ones to Watch”, 2024 – 2025, Commercial Litigation and Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants

·       Leah Rudnicki, 2017 – 2025, Commercial Litigation and Oil and Gas Law

·       Sharon Thomas, 2022 Energy Law “Lawyer of the Year”; 2013 – 2024 Oil and Gas and Energy Law; 2023 – 2025, Commercial Litigation

 Eugene Kuntz Oil and Gas Award

·       Sharon Thomas, 2024 Recipient and first female honoree

 Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Attorney

·       Johnny Blassingame

·       Sharon Thomas

 Super Lawyers, Oklahoma

·       Johnny Blassingame, 2022 – 2024, Civil Litigation: Defense

·       JulieAnn Robison (“Rising Star”), 2023 – 2024, Civil Litigation: Defense

·       Leah Rudnicki, 2021 – 2024, General Litigation

·       Sharon Thomas, Appellate, 2022 - 2024

Community Engagement

Beyond the courtroom, TRF thrives on advocacy and a deep-rooted commitment to our community.

 ·  Celebrating Women in Law – commemorating International Women’s Day and Rosie the Riveter Day annually, and empowering legal professionals to take parental leave without jeopardizing the advancement of their careers.
• Championing Mental Health Awareness – Advocating for wellness in the legal profession by encouraging all our employees - and anyone working in law - to advocate for themselves as much as their clients and embrace work/life harmony.
• Honoring Trailblazers – Celebrating way-pavers in law, whether historical figures, modern day leaders, or in-office mentors like our own Sharon Thomas, using 40+ years of experience to guide young attorneys and break barriers!

 Engagement:

·  Rocking the Stage for Justice – Our “Brief This!” lip-sync group won “Best Performance” at the Oklahoma Bar Foundation’s 2019 fundraiser, supporting access to justice programs.

·  A Mile a Day– annually participating in the “Move FTT” challenge to move at least a mile a day while raising funds for the For Their Thoughts Foundation for dementia patients and their caretakers.

· Supporting the Next Generation - annual attendance at the Juliette Lowe Leadership Society Luncheon celebrating inspiring girls and women leaders and the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma's “Cookies and Cocktails” fundraiser.

·  Earth Day –TRF team members and family beautified the grounds of Will Rogers Garden in Oklahoma City in 2024.

·  Giving Back – our volunteers packaged 3,168 meal kits for Oklahomans at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and served as Joy 4 Kids “Santa Sponsors” for a child in need during the holidays. Nationally, TRF has contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Hawaii Community Foundation, and California Community Foundation in recent years.

 In addition to the firm’s collective volunteering and pro-bono efforts, many of our team members individually give back to the community:

 ·       Johnny Blassingame coaches youth basketball.

·       Leah Rudnicki teaches Sunday school, has served as a Girl Scout Troop Leader, and is Co-Chair of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Bench and Bar Committee.

·       Sharon Thomas reads for the Oklahoma City Head Start Program.

·       Caroline Lewis serves on the MPower, Inc. Board.

·       Staff members also fundraise and volunteer for multiple community organizations across the country, including Imagination Library, Positive Tomorrows, Rhode Island Pet Network, and Water4Water.

Who We Are

Outside of our time as lawyers, staff members, and volunteers, our team is made up of spouses, parents, grandparents, siblings, and caretakers. Most of us have pets, are dog-lovers, and have interests ranging from traveling to reading and from sports to acting. We embrace what makes us unique as much as what makes us a collective.

As we observe this milestone, TRF extends our deepest gratitude to our clients, colleagues, and community for their support. Here’s to many more years of growing together!

Issue Two: What Women Are (and Are Not) in the Electorate

Westlaw allows users to search for all Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) opinions that have used the phrase “women are”. A recent search returned 95 opinions. The most recent opinion using the phrase “women are” was the Dobbs opinion written by Justice Alito and joined by the majority members of SCOTUS:

“Women are not without electoral or political power.” Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., 597 U.S. 215, 2277 (2022).

Instead of saying what women are in this quote, Justice Alito says what women are not. He says women are NOT powerless. He says that we have the power to vote and that we need to use our power to vote (he says “women”, but it is an issue for everyone). This is not the time for women or men to sit out. Think of your mom, sister, daughter, wife, or any other label applied to a human who no longer has the same rights as before June 24, 2022, the date of the Dobbs’ opinion.

If you believe that now is better than “before” for women – 100% agree! As evidence of what it was like when only white men could vote, here is a sample run-on sentence contained in a dissenting minority opinion from SCOTUS dated December 1, 1851, penned by Justice Wayne. This opinion contains the following quote:

“[T]hat the testimony of women is weighed with caution and allowances for them differently from that of men…” Gaines v. Relf, 53 U.S. 472, 551 (1851) (dissenting opinion).

In other words:

“[W]omen are inferior to men…” Id.

Context: This opinion was written three years AFTER Seneca Falls, and almost 70 years before women had the federal right to vote.

Be sure to use your power today and VOTE!

Issue One: Oklahomans are 48th in the Nation in Voter Turnout

TRF Voter Information Series

As of July 3, 2024, The Rudnicki Firm (“TRF”) employs seventeen Oklahoma residents and has lawyers working twenty pending cases in the state courts of Oklahoma.1  The city/town, county, state, and federal elections each have different effects on an individual Oklahoman and the governance of different levels.  If you think or you have been told that your vote does not count, that is simply false.  Every vote counts and this is true in the year 2024, just like it has been in every past year. This article is to provide facts so each of you will VOTE.  If you need to register, you can do so here. 

Did you know that a single vote in Oklahoma is worth more than a single vote in almost any other jurisdiction in the nation? Regrettably, this value is due to Oklahomans near last place ranking in voter turnout.² The pitiful Election Day turnout is a relatively new trend, as the state has steadily dropped seventeen places over the past five presidential elections.³ But voter turnout is a tight field; even a ten-percent voter increase can make Oklahoma competitive with the national average in time for the 2024 Election.⁴

Bumping up the number of voters in Oklahoma could lead to federal dollars and increased disposable income for all state residents. Low state voter turnout has been financially crippling: Oklahomans’ disposable income is at a twenty-year low compared to other states.⁵ Last year, Kansans kept on average over $3,000 more than their Oklahoman neighbor.⁶ During the pandemic, Oklahomans were made to scrape by with some of the least federal support in the nation.⁷ These financial realities coincide with the near thirty-year freefall in relative voter turnout that finds Oklahoma at the bottom of the list.⁸  

Voters ensure that Oklahoma selects the most capable candidate who can compete and win for Oklahoma on the national stage. Voters represent the millions of Oklahomans who either will not or cannot vote for themselves.   

VOTE. Whether you vote to bring the state back into national competition, to boost Oklahomans’ support and income, to improve quality of life for you and your family, or to ensure the most capable candidate is elected, VOTE.  Based on the data, your vote should count more here in Oklahoma than anywhere else in the country.  

The Voter Registration Deadline for the General Election is October 11, 2024. For those who cannot vote on the November 5, 2024, Election Day in Oklahoma, early voting begins on October 31, 2024, and runs through noon on November 2, 2024. Learn more about the voting process in Oklahoma from the Oklahoma State Election Board.

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¹ TRF is motivated to increase voter turn out.

² Election Sciences Lab, Univ. of Fla., 2020 General Election Turnout, https://election.lab.ufl.edu/voter-turnout/2020-general-election-turnout/ (last visited June 24, 2024); New Hampshire Secretary of State, Voter Turnout Ranking of States: 1996-2020 Presidential Elections, Based on Vote for Highest Office Divided by Voting Age Population (VAP) AFTER National Voter Registration Act of 1993, https://www.sos.nh.gov/ (last visited June 24, 2024); Voter turnout rate in the presidential election in the United States as of December 7, 2020, by state https://www.statista.com/statistics/1184621/presidential-election-voter-turnout-rate-state/.

³ Id.

⁴ Id.

⁵ U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, SASUMMARY State annual summary statistics: personal income, GDP, consumer spending, price indexes, and employment (https://apps.bea.gov/itable/?ReqID=70&step=1, last visited June 24, 2024).

⁶ Id.

⁷ https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/fiscalrecoveryfunds-statefunding1-508A.pdf.

⁸ See Election Sciences Lab, supra; New Hampshire Secretary of State, supra.

Mental Health Awareness in Law

The Rudnicki Firm is observing Mental Health Awareness Month this May.

It’s no secret that legal work can take a toll on the mental health of lawyers and staff. Long days, complex tasks and decisions, frequently changing focus, and needing to be easily accessible can be hard on new and seasoned professionals alike. There is no easy solution, but making space to reevaluate priorities and approaching from a place of empathy can ease the strain. 

At TRF, we strive for employees to feel comfortable discussing concerns and asking for help. It is imperative in a hybrid workplace that every member of our team is seen and heard. In addition to the efforts of our dedicated managers, the entire firm gathers for bimonthly “Coffee Talks”, where all update on status and evaluate workloads. Prevention of burnout benefits not just our team, but our clients, too, who receive our best efforts when we’re at our healthiest.

No matter your title or position, mental health affects us all. Simply making our state of mind a regular subject of discussion and removing any surrounding stigma can prove life-changing for colleagues – and ourselves. We all can recognize when we need to step back from work or other hardships to take time with family and friends. When taking care of our bodies and using our usual stress relief strategies aren’t enough, however, there are support groups and counselors ready to help.

Are you in the legal profession and feeling anxious, depressed, or using unhealthy coping mechanisms? Lawyer Assistance Programs exist in every state, providing confidential support to judges, lawyers and law students facing mental health problems and substance abuse. In Oklahoma, contact Lawyers Helping Lawyers at 1-800-364-7886. Texans can contact the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program at 1-800-343-8527, Voicemail at 512-463-1453, E-mail, or visit Facebook.

TRF Celebrates Rosie the Riveter Day!

2002

A big law associate from Houston, Texas, walked into a Georgia state courtroom as a member of the defense team. She was armed with case law, prepared to argue the facts, and ready to defend the client vigorously with her big law partner and local counsel. There was just one obstacle that she had not imagined and other counsel did not share.

The judge’s reaction to her pantsuit.

This judge did not see a lawyer standing in front of him. Instead, he noted a woman wearing clothing that he felt was better suited for a man. That judge made her sit behind the bar and eventually continued the hearing, but only after the associate found a skirt he felt suitable.

In the same year, in a different state, in a different courtroom, a different big law partner turned to the young associate, telling her that she will never be allowed to go to court again if she wouldn’t wear stilettos.  Confused, she asked, “You are talking about my shoes, right?”  Yes - he was talking about her shoes.  Big law partner: “Professional women do not wear flats”. He told her that she is too short to wear flats, anyway.

2006

The big law associate became big law counsel as she progressed to her goal of big law partner. She was very pregnant and working as if she was not, to prove that her career would not be derailed by motherhood. The big law associate was not allowed to attend a client development event because it was perceived that her pregnant belly would make clients “uncomfortable”.

2013

In a different state, in a different courtroom, the associate was now a big law partner. It was July and the air conditioner didn't work in the courtroom; it was hot. The partner took off her suit coat and her shoulders were showing. At the next break, Co-Defense counsel told her that she should never show her shoulders in a courtroom and should never take off her coat.  The partner checked with her local lawyer, seasoned trial lawyer Stan Ward, who told her to ignore Co-Defense counsel. In that same courtroom, the Partner wore flats, and she could not see over the podium; the short issue is real.

2016

While the same partner was speaking at a women's group, another panel member gave the advice that women lawyers should not attend client development social events with male clients.  It might be seen as “untoward”.  Since the partner had spent most of her career traveling and dining with her male counterparts, she completely disagreed with this advice. The following year, she decided to flip the script - and she opened her own firm.

2024

Unsurprisingly, the lawyer described above is our founder, Leah Rudnicki. Twenty-two years later, she appears in courtrooms all over the U.S., mostly wearing skirt suits or dresses in heels.  If she feels hot, she takes off her jacket and bears her shoulders. If she has a pregnant team member, she takes that team member places until she’s tired of going!  Leah always asks local counsel whether the judge has unwritten rules that need to be known.

Leah’s resilience underlies her brilliance in managing TRF, coaching team members, counseling clients, and prepping for trial. Leah and other lawyers like her encounter and endure misogynist situations regularly while educating offenders or others on the ignorance that still shows up in 2024.  

Leah T. Rudnicki, Sharon T. Thomas and Caroline J. Lewis of The Rudnicki Firm (OU Law Grads 2001, 1981 and 2014; Mom est. 2006, 1987, and 2024)

In February of this year, TRF celebrated seven years of growth and success due to the trust of our clients!  We have expanded from an all-women firm to a diverse firm which more closely mirrors the juries that we appear before.

Leah leads TRF with the underlying core belief that practicing law does not have to be miserable! It is fun, intense, and inclusive.  Not surprisingly, TRF is dedicated to advancing women (and everyone) on merit, not their style of clothing or parental status.

We firmly believe that parenthood should never be an impediment to professional success. TRF offers parental leave to mothers and fathers so they may enjoy their families and quality of life outside of the courtroom. Lawyers are human beings as surely as they are trusted professionals. No one should lose a career in exchange for creating a family.  By working with TRF, you are improving the legal field for all people!

Today, we celebrate Rosie the Riveter Day and the inclusion of all Americans in the working world:

During World War II six million women entered the workforce. "Rosie the Riveter" and her "We Can Do It" motto came to symbolize all women Home Front workers. A shortage of white male workers led to active recruitment by the United States Government of women to war industry jobs. Initially, white middle class women were recruited, followed by minority men, and finally minority women. Integration of women and minorities into the workforce was initially met with resistance; however, the new opportunities for women and minorities "cracked open" the door to equal rights and would have profound impacts on the Civil Rights Movement and Women's Movement during the following decades.

-National Park Service, Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front

TRF is dedicated to opening more doors in the legal industry for lawyers in pants and skirts, flats and heels, and parents of children and pets. We allow legal professionals to become well-rounded humans, which only benefits our clients! Let’s normalize dressing for your day, parental leave, supporting families, and singles – together, we can remake the culture and improve the legal industry for all.