Colleen Lilah McCarty

Practice Areas: Socials Justice Law

Additional Information: Colleen McCarty is an attorney and life-long Oklahoman. In 2017, McCarty went back to the University of Tulsa College of Law to attend law school (JD ‘20). She served as an Articles Submission Editor on the Tulsa Law Review. Her law review note, “When Voters’ Intent Backfires,” was published in the Spring 2020 Issue. While in law school, McCarty co-published a piece in the Federal Sentencing Reporter titled, "Oklahoma's State Question 780: Reform & Resistance." Since becoming licensed to practice law in Oklahoma, she has served as Policy Counsel and Deputy Director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform. In Spring of 2022, McCarty worked with Appleseed Foundation Executive Director, Benet Magnuson, to open Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, where she now serves as Executive Director. She has worked across both sides of the aisle in the Oklahoma legislature on criminal justice policy, and was instrumental in passing medical parole reform in 2020 (SB 320). McCarty assisted in formulating a proposal for a felony classification & sentencing system, as introduced in SB 1646 (2022) and later in HB 1792 (2023). McCarty has been one of the key advocates pushing for survivor justice reform, which materialized in the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, SB 1835 (2024)—a measure that passed the Oklahoma Senate 46-0 and the Oklahoma House 86-4. She is admitted to practice in Oklahoma District Court, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Firm Members: Emily Turner Brent Rowland Natascha Ferguson