Jimmy K. Goodman, senior trial attorney and past president at Crowe & Dunlevy, has become the new president of the American Bar Foundation (ABF) for the 2022-24 term. For the past two years, Goodman served as the vice president of the ABF Board of Directors.
As president of the ABF, Goodman will supervise efforts in fundraising and, in conjunction with the ABF Board of Directors, provide oversight to the foundation’s empirical and interdisciplinary research and programming.
“I am both humbled and excited by the opportunity to serve the American Bar Foundation Board of Directors as its president,” said Goodman. “Our board is actively engaged with the tasks of enlarging the public profile of the ABF, as well as ensuring it will raise the funds needed to continue to increase its role as the world’s leading institute for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law and its relationship with society.”
Since receiving his J.D. from Stanford in 1971, Jimmy has specialized in high-stakes business litigation, product claims, and disputes involving tribal compacts, economic development, gaming enterprises and federal Indian law. Jimmy has tried cases before state, federal, bankruptcy, and tribal courts representing individuals, small businesses, and Native American Nations, along with Fortune 500 companies.
Jimmy was named Oklahoma City Lawyer of the Year for Gaming Law in 2014 and 2016, for Litigation – Real Estate in 2017 and 2019, for Native American Law in 2018 and 2020, and for Litigation – Banking and Finance in 2021 by Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession.
Goodman’s achievements and philanthropy in the field of law have led him to receive multiple honors and awards. At the Oklahoma Bar Association meeting in November 2022, Goodman will receive the OBA Joe Stamper Distinguished Service Award for longtime service to the Bar Association or contribution to the legal profession. In 2009, he received the William G. Paul Oklahoma Justice Award on behalf of Oklahoma’s justice community for commitment to “the American promise of equal justice for all.” Goodman was also the recipient of the OBA John E. Shipp Award for Ethics in 2006. That same year, the Oklahoma County Bar Association presented him with both the Leadership in Law Award and its highest award, the Bobby G. Knapp Bar Leadership Award for sustained leadership and professionalism reflecting the highest values of the legal community.
Goodman is an ABF Visionary Fellow and previously served as a Fellows Chair. He also cochaired the ABF fundraising efforts to create the William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law.
He has also been of service to the American Bar Association (ABA) throughout his career. He held positions on the ABA Board of Governors, the ABA House of Delegates, the ABA Litigation Section, and the ABA Task Force on Human Trafficking. He is also heavily involved with the ABA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, having been on the ABA’s Council on Racial and Ethnic Justice, Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and Commission on Hispanic Rights and Responsibilities.
Outside the legal field, Goodman is an active community volunteer, philanthropist, and organizer. He is a longtime fundraiser, volunteer attorney, and board member for Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. He is a past president and long-time counsel to Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma. He is a founding board member of Citizens League of Central Oklahoma, Myriad Gardens Foundation, and Central Oklahoma Childbirth Education Association.
“Jimmy Goodman has a distinguished record of service to the American Bar Association and the American Bar Foundation—with its distinct mission of intersectional research in law and society,” said Interim Executive Director Bryant Garth. “His energy, enthusiasm, and judgment make him ideal to lead the Board. We are lucky that he has taken on this position, and I look forward to working with him.”
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About the American Bar Foundation
The American Bar Foundation (ABF) is the world’s leading research institute for the empirical and interdisciplinary study of law. The ABF seeks to expand knowledge and advance justice through innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous empirical research on law, legal processes, and legal institutions. To further this mission the ABF will produce timely, cutting-edge research of the highest quality to inform and guide the legal profession, the academy, and society in the United States and internationally. The ABF’s primary funding is provided by the American Bar Endowment and the Fellows of The American Bar Foundation.