Emmanuel E. Edem is a partner in the Oklahoma City law firm of Norman & Edem, PLLC. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University. He is listed in “Best Lawyers in America”. Mr. Edem has been listed as an Oklahoma “Super Lawyer” every year since the inception of the ranking. He is also rated AV – the highest rating of a lawyer given by the peer-reviewed Martindale reviewing system. During law school, Mr. Edem was the case comment editor of the Oklahoma City University Law Review and a member of the National Moot Court Team. He received the Duane Box Faculty Award for his outstanding work as a student advocate. In 1989, Oklahoma City University recognized Mr. Edem as a Distinguished Law Alumnus. The university conferred on him an honorary doctor of laws degree. He currently serves as a member of the university’s board of trustees and chair of the law school’s executive board. Mr. Edem has provided extensive service to the legal profession. In 1995, he served as president of the Oklahoma Association For Justice (formerly known as the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association). From 1996 to 2000, he chaired the Oklahoma Bar Association Committee on Law Schools. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and a Master of the William J. Holloway, Jr. American Inn of Court. He serves on the Oklahoma Supreme Court Standing Committee on Uniform Jury Instructions. He was named an Oklahoma Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Mr. Edem is a sustaining member of the American Association For Justice (formerly known as the Association Of Trial Lawyers Of America) and has served as a faculty member at the National College of Advocacy and the Ultimate Trial College at Harvard Law School. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University School of Law. He is a past president of the Civil Justice Foundation and a trustee of the Roscoe Pound Foundation. In 1998, Mr. Edem was one of the few lawyers in the United States selected to participate in the American Bar Association’s Presidential Showcase Program, the “The Trial of the Century-The Sinking of the Titanic,” which took place at the Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Edem’s practice is limited to serious personal injury and wrongful death cases, products liability, medical malpractice, and general civil litigation. Mr. Edem is also involved, on a national basis, in cases arising out of the subprime mortgage crisis, and the securitization of mortgage loans by the financial industry.

Melanee McAfee Kistler was born and raised in Tulsa Oklahoma, where she received her undergraduate degree from the University of Tulsa, majoring in Advertising/Public Relations. She worked at Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa for four years as Editorial Assistant, working on museum publications, organizing public events, and taking minutes for a 40-member board of directors. After becoming engaged to her husband, she moved to Oklahoma City to work for the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum as Editorial Assistant. She also helped organize art sales and banquets, presenting awards with guest celebrities at the prestigious Western Heritage Awards, She embarked on a career change when her daughters were still in grade school and began attending OCU law school. She became a Certified Mediator through the Oklahoma Supreme Court Early Settlement Mediation Program, mediating small claims cases upon referral from district court judges. After law school, she worked on the Fen Phen litigation with Phillips, Murrah during the discovery phase of the complex litigation for the opt-out lawsuits. She later spent six years working for Oklahoma Child Support Services, managing an interstate caseload and taking remedies to enforce court orders. In 2012, she opened her own law firm, focusing her practice on family law and social security disability claims. In 2017, she worked as a decision writer at the Office of Hearings Operations, following Administrative Law Judges instructions in drafting final case decisions. She returned to private practice in 2018, and continues to represent claimants in social security hearings before Administrative Law Judges throughout the state. Her professional associations include membership in the Social Security disability and Estate Planning sections of the Oklahoma Bar Association. She is also involved with the Women in Law section where she participates in community service projects. She is admitted to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. She and her husband, Steve, have been married for 35 years and have two marvelous daughters. Lindsay started her own law firm after six years as an associate attorney with Hall Estill, and Hillary is a Speech Language Pathologist for Integris and Norman Regional Health System.

I have always felt obligated to help others through what can be some of the hardest times of their lives. When someone is injured at work, without income, and not aware of their rights, I help them navigate the complicated field of workers’ compensation. The law does not always protect the injured worker, especially in Oklahoma, but I will never stop trying to help injured workers through either the court and/or commission or through the legislature. When not practicing law, I enjoy spending time with my family on our ranch. I grew up farming and something has always drawn me back to it. It recharges my batteries. If you can’t find me at court or in the office, then I am likely at the ranch but never too far away to help.

Most people are looking for an attorney because they find themselves in a situation of great strife. While I cannot undo the injury or harm suffered, I will do my utmost to assure them they will receive the compensation they deserve. I am dedicated to providing my client’s with dignity, comfort, and security as they transverse a legal process that can be burdensome and worrying.