Mona Salyer Lambird (1938–1999) was an

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

lawyer who became the first woman president of the

Oklahoma Bar Association The Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. History The Oklahoma Territory Bar Association and the Indian Territory Bar Association merged in 1904 to form the Oklahoma Bar Ass ...

and the first woman elected to the Board of Governors of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She was inducted into the

Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by Oklahoma Governor George Nigh "to honor Oklahoma women who are pioneers in their field or in a project that benefits Oklahoma; who have made a significant contribution to the State of Oklahoma ...

in 1995.

Biography

Mona Sue Salyer was born on July 19, 1938, in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, to Pauline and B.M. Salyer, Jr. She pursued an undergraduate degree in Economics graduating with honors in 1960 from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

. That same year, she married Perry Albert Lambird (1960-1999). The couple moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and Lambird enrolled in the University of Maryland School of Law. During her schooling, she was the Editor of the Maryland Law Review. She graduated in 1963, with honors, earning the Elizabeth Maxwell Carroll Chestnut Prize as a member of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap, whi ...

Career

After graduation, she worked in the US Attorney's Office in the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1971, Lambird joined Andrews, Davis, Legg, Bixler, Milsten and Price, where she later became partner in 1977. Her practice concerned general civil, state and federal litigation with a focus on employment law disputes with administrative agencies and on behalf of management. In 1989, she was honored as ''

The Journal Record ''The Journal Record'' is a daily business and legal newspaper based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Its offices are in downtown Oklahoma City, with a bureau at the Oklahoma State Capitol. ''The Journal Record'' began publication in 1937, though an ...

''′s Corporate Woman of the Year. That same year, she was elected as the first woman to head the Oklahoma County Bar Association, serving as vice president from 1989 to 1990 and president from 1990 to 1991. From 1992 to 1994 she was elected as the first woman to serve on the Board of Governors of the Oklahoma Bar and in 1996, Lambird was sworn in as the first woman president of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She was inducted into the

in 1995 and in 1996, was honored with the Wall of Fame Humanitarian Award from the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation. In 1998, the ''Spotlight Award'', given annually to five Oklahoma women of distinction in the legal profession, was renamed as the ''Mona Salyer Lambird Spotlight Award'' by the Oklahoma Bar Association. Lambird, her husband and a daughter, Jennifer, were killed in an automobile accident while on vacation in Çankırı,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. They were survived by her three daughters, Allison Lambird Watson, Elizabeth Lambird Youngblood and Susannah Lambird Collier.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambird, Mona Salyer 1938 births 1999 deaths Lawyers from Oklahoma City Oklahoma lawyers Wellesley College alumni University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law alumni 20th-century American women lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Road incident deaths in Turkey