Mary Ann Karns
While perhaps best known for her unequaled service as a full-time city attorney in three Oklahoma communities, Mary Ann Karns also has been a significant influence in other ways on Oklahoma local government. For one, she is credited by many as being a key influence on the educational programs offered for municipal counsel throughout the state. And perhaps most significantly, others recognize her as a singular stabilizing influence in the mid-1970s after municipal collective bargaining turmoil wracked the state. One support letter extolled her professionalism as a negotiator and as one who trained and educated many municipal administrators and union representatives alike.
This valedictorian from Healdton High School first earned a B. A. degree at Oklahoma City University; then graduated as first in her class with a Juris Doctorate from the OCU School of Law. Her early career including serving as a legal intern for the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals followed by an internship for state Attorney General Larry Derryberry.
In addition to serving at different times as the full-time city attorney for Edmond, Stillwater, and Shawnee, she also returned to private law practice twice during the past 35 years. Even then, a great deal of her practice concentrated on municipal legal and labor relations issues serving numerous cities and towns throughout the state. In 2008 her contributions were recognized when she was honored with the singular distinction as the only person, not an employee or elected official of a city or town to receive the Don Rider Award from the Oklahoma Municipal League.
Early in her municipal service, Mary Ann served in various officer positions for the Oklahoma Association of Municipal Attorneys during a time when many new, young lawyers began to practice in this specialty area. During this time she helped to develop the association’s series of educational seminars still followed today. She is also credited as being the major influence leading to housing at OML the extensive municipal legal library collection of the esteemed Professor Maurice Merrill. In addition to her frequent presentations to other legal counsel, she is one of the few persons to present training courses to employees of virtually every department and service area of municipal government operations. And continuing the breadth of her influence, she also served a term on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group and for six years as a Regional Vice President of the National Institute of Municipal Lawyers.