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How two local lawyers used their experience and enthusiasm to help the Tulsa County Bar Association’s biggest annual events.
Most people probably imagine an attorney as someone who puts in long hours at the office, researching and planning cases.
For a number of Tulsa attorneys, that workload also includes a second job as volunteers.
Meet Bruce Roach Jr. and Marvin Lizama, local lawyers who chaired two of the Tulsa County Bar Association’s (TCBA) major events this year — the annual charity golf tournament and Law Week, respectively.
Roach, an attorney with Barrow & Grimm P.C., already had experience with the golfing event. After all, he’d been on the committee since 2003, when the tournament began.
“Organizing a charity golf tournament while maintaining a legal practice is not an easy task,” he says, but his predecessors “made it look easy.”
The Tulsa County Bar Foundation (TCBF) sponsors the event, which took place May 18 and benefits the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 32; Blue Star Mothers, Chapter 1; and the foundation’s community outreach program.
While Roach has kudos for all these groups, “I have always been especially impressed with the work of the Disabled American Veterans organization. I appreciate the sacrifices that have been made by the men and women that make up and utilize the DAV.”
Chairing the tournament “was one very small way I could show them and the other charities my appreciation for the services they provide our community,” he says.
Like all event chairs, Roach set out to make a successful event even more so. His committee worked with Meadowbrook Country Club to speed up play. Then they secured additional prizes and giveaways.
Strong sponsorship — even in a down economy — from Tulsa businesses and law firms also helped, he says, along with approximately 50 volunteers.
To date, the tournaments have raised more than $125,000 for charity. Roach and his team brought in $34,000 this year, $1,000 more than in 2008.
Although Roach says the truly busy volunteer in the house is his wife, Shea, he also focuses on other volunteer activities — coaching his two young sons’ sports teams. 
His fellow attorney, Marvin Lizama, of Brewster & DeAngelis, obtained his law degree in 2006. But he has jumped in enthusiastically as a TCBA volunteer.
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Lizama came to America from Honduras at age 12 and grew up in New York City. His wife, Jenny, urged him to consider The University of Tulsa College of Law, which led to them becoming Tulsans.
He speaks enthusiastically about TCBA’s Law Week, where the list of activities continues to grow, he says. Each year, the American Bar Association chooses the theme. This year’s topic, “Lincoln — A Legacy of Liberty,” gave his team endless possibilities, he says.
The week includes an event dear to his heart, a naturalization ceremony. It also includes Lawyer in the Library and Ask a Lawyer, through which people can obtain free legal advice; a community law fair; and activities for young people, including an art contest and mock trial competitions. Dozens of attorneys volunteered their time for the events, held in April and early May.
Lizama says he made it his job to find the right speaker for the Law Day luncheon, where bar members celebrate achievements.
In researching possible Lincoln experts, he came across a newly published book, “Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln,” which describes the parallel lives of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. He was captivated by its compelling tale.
He then happened to watch a C-SPAN book program in which “Giants” author John Stauffer was interviewed. Lizama contacted him and convinced him to come to Tulsa.
Stauffer’s presence helped bring in a larger crowd than in 2008, says Sandra Cousins, TCBA and TCBF executive director. Other events, including the Law Fair and student contests, also exceeded previous numbers.
Yet, like Roach, Lizama’s main focus was on producing events that would help the community.
“When people (receiving free legal advice) come up and thank you for helping them, saying, ‘If you hadn’t, I would have been lost,’ that’s what’s worth it,” he says.
