Click play on the video player above to view this week’s special episode, the latest installment of our year-long weekly celebration of the firm’s 70th anniversary.
As McAfee & Taft neared its 70th anniversary, a small dedicated team was tasked with a daunting assignment: put together a long-overdue official chronicle of the firm’s history, a formal recognition of its key players, and a grand celebration to mark this milestone.
Dozens of people shared their time and their stories. Hundreds of documents, artifacts and memorabilia were collected and archived. Contributors included current, retired and former attorneys and staff, as well as family and friends of the firm’s founders and early partners.
As a key element of this extensive project, McAfee & Taft published a commemorative book about this rich history.
Authored by award-winning reporter and writer M. Scott Carter, a sixth-generation Oklahoman, the book recounts fascinating anecdotes and illuminating backstories about the firm, its founders, its precedential cases won and landmark deals done, and the pivotal roles the firm has played in the history of Oklahoma City, the state of Oklahoma, and beyond.
A chronicle 70 years in the making, this is our story.
Producer/Director/Editor: Brad Neese
Producer/Writer/Senior Editor: Robin Croninger
Executive Producer: Michael Lauderdale
Special Contributor: Terry Barrett
Book Author: M. Scott Carter
Videography: Brad Neese, Cody Smith and Caleb Taulbee
Narrator: Todd Barsness
Production Assistance: Richard Hill, Vanessa Spaeth, Caleb Taulbee and Jessica Walthall
Photos and footage courtesy:
Oklahoma Historical Society
The Oklahoman
McAfee & Taft archives
Michael Vance
Nebraska State Historical Society
Library of Congress
Getty Images
111 Media – Aerial Videography/Photography
Personal collections from contributors listed below
Special thanks to the following project contributors
Terry Barrett, retired attorney — interview, memorabilia
Donna Bennett, retired staff — interview
Tim Blake, former staff — logistics
Alysoun Hunt Bond, Reford Bond’s daughter — interview, memorabilia
Mark Burget, retired attorney — interview, memorabilia
Elizabeth Dalton, attorney — interview
Cliff Dougherty, attorney — interview
Karen Dutton, staff — transcription
Ted Elam, retired attorney — interview
Connie Fuller, former attorney — interview
Gary Fuller, retired attorney — interview
Virginia Fulton, former staff — interview, memorabilia
John Hermes, retired attorney — interview
Frank Hill, attorney — interview
Larry Huffman, retired attorney — interview
Dudley Hyde, retired attorney — interview
Lynn Fraser Jaslowich, former staff — interview
Mike Joseph, attorney — interview, memorabilia
Myrna Latham, attorney — interview
Michael Lauderdale, attorney — interview
Mark Malone, former attorney; Stewart Mark’s grandson — interview, memorabilia
Karen Kuntz Maloy, Gene Kuntz’s daughter — interview, memorabilia
Cynthia McHale, staff — research
John and Carolyn Mee, retired attorney and spouse — interview, memorabilia
Shannon Mercer, staff — interview
Rick Mullins, attorney — interview
Richard Nix, attorney — interview
Betty Northcutt, retired staff — interview
Trisha Perdue, retired staff — interview
Cynthia Bond Perry, Reford Bond’s daughter — interview, memorabilia
Frank Polk, retired attorney — interview
Louis Price, attorney — interview, memorabilia
Teresa Purcell, former staff — interview
Dee Replogle, attorney — interview
Mark Rhodes, retired staff — interview
Rick Riggs, attorney — interview
Reid and Jean Ann Robison, retired attorney and spouse — interview, memorabilia
Bill Rodgers, retired attorney — interview
Patricia Rogers, attorney — memorabilia
Sharon Selby, staff — interview
Linda Steinke, staff — interview
Pete Van Dyke, retired attorney — interview
Keena Wamble, former staff — memorabilia
Judy Webb, retired staff — interview, memorabilia
Andre Williams, staff — logistics
Jaci McAfee Williams, Kenneth McAfee’s daughter — interview, memorabilia
Terri Anne Williams, Kenneth McAfee’s granddaughter — interview, memorabilia
Betsy Wood, attorney — interview
Jenny Woodruff, Pete Woodruff’s daughter — interview, memorabilia