Roth brings passion for energy, environment to Phillips Murrah

(OKLAHOMA CITY) January 22, 2009 — Former Corporation Commissioner and impassioned public servant Jim Roth will take the next step in a remarkable career as an attorney of counsel with Phillips Murrah, the Oklahoma City-based law firm announced today.

The firm's president, Tom Wolfe, said that Roth will provide additional depth and direction to Phillips Murrah's respected energy, alternative (“green”) energy and regulatory practice groups. Specifically, his expertise will help Oklahomans and Oklahoma businesses meet and exceed the challenges presented by the intersection of today's energy and today's environment.

Roth said, "I am thrilled to join the Phillips Murrah team and help lead our State and its businesses to their full promise; be it wind, natural gas, conservation or progressive opportunities yet to be discovered."

Highlighting the synergy of his private law practice with his passion for energy, the environment and public service, Roth said, "In these challenging economic and environmental times, our citizens and our businesses need help to develop strategies that make clean energy available and affordable."

"We Oklahomans, and our fellow Americans around this region and country, need to explore every natural resource blessing we have and move our businesses in the direction of meeting energy demand, while also being good stewards of Mother Earth," he added.

ABOUT JIM ROTH: Hand-selected by Governor Brad Henry to serve as Corporation Commissioner on June 1, 2007, Roth held the office through December 2008. He was first elected county commissioner in 2002 and, in 2006, was the first re-elected county commissioner in over a decade.

Prior to serving as Corporation Commissioner, Roth served eight years as a chief deputy and attorney to the Oklahoma County Clerk and a previous administration for District One of the county commission.

A graduate of the Kansas State University, Roth received his law degree from Oklahoma City University in 1994. He is a member of the American, Oklahoman and Kansas Bar Associations. A devoted community advocate and public servant, Roth has said, "public service feeds my soul."