Two attorneys with a connection to Sallisaw have been disbarred, according to decisions recently handed down by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Ron Durbin of Tulsa, the face of the social media page Guerrilla Publishing, who describes his YouTube video pursuits as “investigative journalists fighting for civil rights across the United States,” was found by the court to have violated 20 counts of the standards of professional conduct, and the trial panel recommended he be disbarred.

James A. Conrady of Okmulgee, who filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit as attorney of record for William Sean Buckner after Buckner was ordered to pay more than $50,000 in attorneys’ fees stemming from his federal lawsuit against the City of Sallisaw, Sallisaw Police Lt. Houston Murray and Police Chief Terry Franklin, wasn’t eligible to practice in the Tenth Circuit appellate court, having been suspended 13 years earlier. Conrady was removed as counsel of record for the appellant, and was referred to the court’s attorney disciplinary panel for further proceedings. In October, the Oklahoma Supreme Court disbarred Conrady.

Both Durbin and Conrady are linked to Sallisaw via Buckner.

Durbin’s campaigns

Durbin practiced law in Oklahoma for 15 years before turning his sights on “the injustices in the legal system and the corruption of the Oklahoma Bar Association and judges across Oklahoma.” As a consequence, the Oklahoma Bar Association suspended Durbin’s license to practice. Durbin now “fights for his First Amendment rights.”

Durbin’s connection to Sallisaw stems from June 2024 when he and his “investigative journalists,” with Buckner in tow, launched campaigns to indict nowformer Sallisaw City Manager Keith Skelton, Sallisaw Police Chief Terry Franklin and Your TIMES. More recently, he added an indictment of the Sallisaw school system as well as local pastors who have run afoul of the law.

In disciplining Durbin, the High Court, in its 71-page ruling, said Durbin’s “disciplinary case is almost in a class by itself for the purpose of comparing different discipline cases for the degree of discipline. This is due to (1) the number and nature of respondent’s violations; (2) the need for protecting the public, the OBA’s members, and the judiciary from respondent’s misrepresentations, lies and recklessly untrue allegations as a lawyer; and (3) protecting members of the public from unprofessional legal representation.”

Durbin was disbarred effective from the date of his interim suspension, April 8, 2024, and “his name shall be, and remain, stricken from the Roll of Attorneys,” the court ruled.

In addition, the Supreme Court ruled Durbin is responsible for $22,152 in legal costs incurred by the state bar during the case.

In coverage by Oklahoma Watch, the nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state, Durbin has been characterized as “a disbarred attorney turned social media provocateur” who employs “aggressive, inflammatory tactics” and, according to the Tulsa World, “aggressive, profanity- laced diatribes against public officials.” Oklahoma Watch also quotes irate parents of school children who call Durbin “an immature bully,” saying his “allegations are exaggerated, his demeanor disrespectful and his intent nefarious.” Two mothers have asked on separate occasions, “Why are we allowing YouTube personalities and online bullying to prevail?”

But, as Oklahoma Watch reports, Durbin remains “unapologetic about confronting small-town educators who may be unprepared to spar with a former attorney holding a camera.”

The internet is rife with negative characterizations and complaints about Durbin and his tactics.

Conrady’s juris prudence

When Jason A. Robertson, a magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, ruled Buckner’s federal lawsuit against the city, et al., to be “frivolous, unreasonable and groundless,” Buckner appealed Robertson’s decision to the appellate court, engaging Conrady as counsel.

But when the appeal was filed, it was discovered that Conrady wasn’t eligible to practice in the Tenth Circuit appellate court, and he was ordered to withdraw as counsel. When Conrady didn’t respond, the appellate court removed Conrady as counsel of record for the appellant and referred Conrady to the court’s attorney disciplinary panel, where he was disbarred.

This is not Conrady’s first disciplinary proceeding. On April 3, 2012, the High Court suspended him from the practice of law for two years and one day “for shooting up the home of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend.”

Then when the case came before the Supreme Court, the judges observed that Conrady “has repeatedly practiced law without the requisite diligence, failed to communicate with clients, neglected to hold unearned fees in trust, and accepted fees he did not earn. This resulted in material harm to several of [his] clients. We have already disciplined [Conrady] once and conclude he should not continue practicing law in this state. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has disbarred [him], and we now do the same.”

In addition, Conrady failed to self-report to the Oklahoma Bar Association’s General Counsel his disbarment from the Tenth Circuit, resulting in Conrady being cited for professional misconduct, and the High Court ruling that “the possibility of [Conrady] continuing to practice law in our state poses too great a danger to its courts and to its people.”

In August, then represented by Charles Wilkin II of Tulsa, Buckner abandoned his federal lawsuit, and a motion for voluntary dismissal was filed. The appellate court dismissed the case with prejudice, and let stand the lower court’s ruling ordering Buckner to pay more than $50,000 in legal fees stemming from his lawsuit against the City of Sallisaw, Sallisaw Police Lt. Houston Murray and Police Chief Terry Franklin.

The Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), an interlocal cooperation agency that assists cities in addressing insurance needs, provided legal representation for the city. Therefore, according to Sallisaw City Manager Brian Heverly, settlement of liabilities is between OMAG, Buckner and the imposing court.

“The city was not required to pay its contracted amount to the attorneys given the ruling. They (OMAG) will pursue the fines through the court system,” Heverly said in an email.