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Each year the Oklahoma County Bar Association honors Oklahoma attorneys who have demonstrated commitment to their profession and communities through its Leadership in Law recognition program. Among the five honorees for the 2014 Leadership in Law Award was McAfee & Taft shareholder and director Michael Joseph, the second time he has been selected for this honor.

In its profile, The Journal Record noted that “he serves on numerous community, civic and educational boards, advisory boards, task forces, selection committees and legislative advisory committees. He is a frequent speaker and organizer of education conferences covering a variety of topics and serves as an adjunct faculty member and professor for nonprofit organizations law at Oklahoma City University.”

With 38 years in the legal profession, Joseph is a transactional lawyer widely regarded for his experience and expertise in representing clients in a broad range of corporate, healthcare, franchise and business law matters. Leading organizations in the nonprofit sector frequently turn to him for guidance and assistance in legal matters applicable to nonprofit organizations, including those involving tax compliance, board governance, board and management responsibilities, fundraising and donor solicitation, planned giving, political advocacy, executive compensation, grants and grant-making, and a full spectrum of issues and challenges that the nonprofit sector faces. Additionally, he has also provided pro bono legal representation to numerous Oklahoma charitable and civic organizations.

His successful, aggressive representation of client interests has been recognized by clients and peers alike and has earned his inclusion in Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, The Best Lawyers in America and Oklahoma Super Lawyers. He was selected by Best Lawyers as the “Oklahoma City Corporate Compliance Lawyer of the Year” in 2012 and 2014, and “Oklahoma City Corporate Governance Lawyer of the Year” in 2013, honors given only to a single lawyer in each legal specialty in each community.

Joseph has also been honored locally as a recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award, Leadership Oklahoma City’s Distinguished Leadership Award, and the United Way of Central Oklahoma’s John Rex Community Builder Award.