In the just-released 2024 edition of Oklahoma Super Lawyers, seven McAfee & Taft attorneys were again named to the annual publication’s list of “Top 25 Women Lawyers” — Rachel Blue, Courtney Bru, Brita H. Cantrell, Mary Quinn Cooper, Kathy R. Neal, Patricia A. Rogers, and Susan B. Shields.
As highlighted in our recent announcement, intellectual property lawyer Rachel Blue and trial lawyer Mary Quinn Cooper were also recognized by Super Lawyers as among Oklahoma’s Top 10 Lawyers, with Cooper ranked second in the state.
Courtney Bru is a highly respected labor and employment lawyer representing employers and management in all phases of litigation before state and federal courts and regulatory and administrative agencies, as well as counseling and training management and human resources professionals on the best practices for reducing risk, avoiding litigation, and maintaining a productive workforce. Courtney is a contributing author and co-editor of the Oklahoma Employment Law Letter. She is also a frequent speaker on labor and employment topics before employer groups, industry professionals, and state and local bar associations.
Brita H. Cantrell is a trial lawyer who represents clients in all aspects of family law, including divorce, complex business valuations and asset and debt apportionment, division of retirement and pension plan assets, custody, visitation, child support, alimony, guardianship and Hague Convention matters. In addition to her civil litigation and counseling practice, Brita also frequently handles pro bono litigation, has been a volunteer advocate for Legal Aid of Oklahoma, and has served by court appointment as a guardian ad litem.
Kathy R. Neal is a trial lawyer whose practice is focused in two areas: the representation of employers with respect to all aspects of their relationship with employees; and litigation of commercial disputes. She has broad experience in both state and federal courts, before administrative and regulatory agencies, and in arbitration and mediation. Kathy also currently serves as an adjunct settlement judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and previously served as an administrative law judge for the Oklahoma Department of Labor.
Patricia A. Rogers is one of the state’s preeminent healthcare lawyers whose practice is concentrated in the areas of federal and state administrative and regulatory compliance, healthcare transactions, and business consulting. She is particularly regarded for her knowledge and expertise on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and leads the firm’s dedicated HIPAA Compliance and Health Privacy Team. She also currently serves as leader of the firm’s Healthcare Group. Prior to her legal career, she was employed in management positions with healthcare institutions and served as the administrator for the institutional review board at an academic medical center.
Susan B. Shields is a highly regarded attorney in the areas of tax and family wealth focusing on wealth transfer tax planning for high net worth families and individuals, business planning for closely held family businesses, estate and trust administration, business entity formation, and the formation and administration of tax-exempt organizations. Susan is a frequent speaker on a variety of estate planning, probate and nonprofit topics at professional and continuing legal education seminars and has served as an adjunct professor of law in estate planning and wealth transfer tax at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She is an elected fellow of the prestigious American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Active in the legal community, Susan served as president of the Oklahoma Bar Association, as a member of the OBA’s Board of Governors, and as a member of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation’s Board of Trustees, which included a one-year term as its president in 2013.
Oklahoma Super Lawyers recognizes the state’s top 5 percent of Oklahoma attorneys in nearly 60 practice areas as “Super Lawyers” and the top 2.5 percent of up-and-coming attorneys as “Rising Stars.” Selections for these esteemed lists are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters legal division. Each year, the research team undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates on 12 indicators of professional achievement and peer recognition, a blue ribbon panel review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.