Law firm succession issue settled

When dad, Patrick Carr retires, his son Michael takes over.

And with a third generation of lawyers in now in place, Patrick sees that it is possible that a family member will be at the helm when the firm celebrates its centennial anniversary in 2049.

Patrick smiled as he recalled the barrage of questions about succession from others in the firm.

“Guy Thiessen in the Tulsa office, and Tye Smith in the firm’s Oklahoma City location wondered what would be next if I were killed in a car wreck,” he said. That wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought.

Patrick joined his dad Eugene in 1973 in an office above Goldies on East 31st St.

Prior to that time, Eugene started his practice in Tahlequah in 1949 before moving to Tulsa in 1956 where he worked with Gene Howard.

At that time, the firm had a general practice, handling divorce cases, criminal and civil defense, just about anything that came in.

As the law became more specialized, the practice moved into product liability, an ironic change from Patrick’s memories of his growing-up years in Tahlequah.

The family had numerous cars because his dad just kept them.

One had a problem. The front wheel would fall off when gears were shifted in a certain manner. They would get out, jack the car up, put the wheel back on and go on with their journey.

That was quite an experience for a firm that now represents clients in product liability claims.

Patrick also owned a car that had tires held on by “knock offs” instead of lug nuts. One day while driving the vehicle, the knockoff on the front tire came off.

He was able to get the tire back on the car and find the knock off. That was it. The sports car went.

It also was in Tahlequah that he learned “to keep looking,” a philosophy that would carry forward to his law practice.

Dad’s hobby was being a mechanic and he always was working on cars, Patrick said. He had a large box in the home garage where miscellaneous items were kept. It was a large box and just about anything could be found there.

When his father needed a nut or another part, he would send his son to find something in the box.

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