Page 103 - ACTL Journal Win24

Terry also served as General Counsel to the Council on Judicial Complaints of the Oklahoma Supreme Court for approximately ten years.
Terry has always been a believer in professionalism and ci- vility – with a twinge of good humor. He once had a case with FACTL Burck Bailey, who represented a New York bank in a suit against a small Oklahoma Trust for return of funds to which, it claimed, the Trust had no right. The bank sent a letter demanding the money’s return. Terry responded that, over time, the Trust had become emotion- ally attached to the money and it would be difficult to give it up. When the matter resolved, Bailey wrote Terry that he was authorized to announce that the Bank of New York
“will no longer do any business in Oklahoma and in fact no one who works for the New York Bank will even be al- lowed to fly over Oklahoma.” After that, Bailey and Terry became friends and occasionally spoke to bar associations about civility and the need for occasional humor.
Terry was inducted as a Fellow in 1996 in St. Louis. He has served on the State Committee and as the State Chair of Oklahoma. He has regularly hosted the Oklahoma Fellows and the occasional Executive Committee Officer at winter meetings at his modest home in San Pancho, Mexico. San Pancho is a place where chickens and pigs run in the streets, and Terry purchased the property before the “rich people” discovered the town. But with additions, the house can now easily host parties of 100 with a mariachi band.
In recent years, Terry recognized increasing needs for teaching trial skills in law schools and legal representation for indigent persons in civil matters such as eviction and housing issues, health care and veteran’s affairs. Terry met with Elizabeth McGovern from the University of Tulsa Law School and, with backing from the Sarkeys Founda- tion, set up the Terry West Civil Legal Clinic to address both needs. Professor McGovern believes law students need to learn civil trial skills while in law school. As she states, “you can’t plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” Terry was recently named to the TU College of Law Hall of Fame.
Terry West, at age eighty-five, still goes into the office daily. He still has work to do. Terry is a model of what the Amer- ican College of Trial Lawyers stands for.
Ron Maclean Fargo, ND
WINTER 2024 JOURNAL 102
Sarkeys J. Sarkeys was born in Lebanon in 1874, the son of a well-to-do olive farmer. Inspired by his broth- ers’ business successes in St. Louis, he emigrated to the United States when he was seventeen years old. Sar- keys found huge success in Oklahoma as a wildcatter. A foundation was set up in his name in Norman, Okla- homa and Terry is a lifetime director. The foundation has grown to over $100 million dollars in assets and is a major donor to Oklahoma not for profits.