Lt. Gov. Jari Askins said the critical thinking and problem-solving skills she learned while an OU law student have played big roles in her career.

Askins spoke Wednesday at the OU College of Law as part of a “Lunch and Learn” panel, which focused on how students and lawyers can use their degrees to work in local and national politics.

“Not everybody in the Legislature needs to be a lawyer, but I’m telling you, having legal experience when you’re writing laws is helpful,” said Askins, a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. “Just think about it: You’re making laws and there are people who don’t even know what’s going to happen to the law or how it might be applied down the road.”

Askins said her life did not unfold as she had originally planned. She said she initially had no plans to go to law school while she earned her undergraduate degree in journalism at OU. Once she became a lawyer in 1980, she returned to her hometown of Duncan, with plans to work for an oil and gas firm there until she could get a job in oil and gas in Tulsa, which she said served as headquarters for several oil companies at that time.

However, Askins said, she received a call from a local judge asking her to consider an opening for special district judge.

“There went my plan to leave town in two years,” she said. “I realized if I moved to Tulsa, I wasn’t going to get a phone call from a judge asking me to take an appointment because no one knew me there.”

After eight years on the bench, Askins lost a bid for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, but received an appointment to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. She said her eight years on the bench allowed her to learn about her role on the board quickly.

Askins later ran again for the State House and won, and later was elected lieutenant governor. She is now running in Oklahoma’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Stephen Cortés and Amanda Miles joined Askins on the panel. Cortés is general counsel for Gov. Brad Henry, while Miles worked for several years as a congressional staffer in Washington, D.C.

“Working for the governor is one of those jobs where you’ll probably never, ever practice that kind of law anywhere else, no matter where you go,” Cortés said.

He described the governor’s legal team, which includes Cortés and two deputies, as a law firm with just one client.

“And that’s the governor,” he said. “It’s not the state of Oklahoma, it’s not the employees in an office, it’s really not even the people of Oklahoma. My client is the governor, period.”

One of the general counsel’s main duties is to review legislation before the governor signs or vetoes it, Cortés said. He also said he drafts executive orders.

“About the worst thing I have to do is participate in executions,” he said. “That’s not fun at all.”

Cortés said the atmosphere around the state Capitol building when the Legislature is in session is “intoxicating.”

It was his desire to be a part of Oklahoma’s political atmosphere that prompted Cortés, a self-described “computer nerd,” to leave a job with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals that combined his legal training and his computer skills and move to a small law firm.

Cortés later became a deputy general counsel for Gov. Brad Henry before heading to work for Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison and Lewis. The Turpen in that firm is Mike Turpen, former Oklahoma attorney general and a prominent Democrat. Cortés said that experience allowed him to combine traditional legal work with political and charitable activism.

Miles, who spent more than five years as a Congressional staffer in Washington, D.C., discussed the qualities a good lobbyist should have by discussing her first meeting with such an influencer.

She said he discussed all sides and aspects of his issue, taking time to teach her instead of taking advantage of her inexperience.

“The word lobbyist has gotten a bad reputation, and some of it’s fair; some of it’s warranted,” she said. “But I also believe lobbyists can be an incredibly useful advocate for their client and can provide valuable information to decision makers.”

Miles, now an attorney for Devon Energy, said legal training and experience are also helpful for lobbyists to have.

“You need to know the law; that’s the most important thing, and knowing how a small piece of legislation affects the broader body of law,” she said.

Miles became a staffer with former U.S. Sen. Don Nickles, R-Ponca City, shortly after earning her undergraduate degree. She said she always knew she eventually wanted to go to law school, but her work in Washington, D.C. and as a media relations director for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce delayed her return to school.

“As soon as I got [to Washington, D.C.] I was like, ‘this is what I’m supposed to do,’ she said. “It makes sense to me; I’m good at this. I enjoy it and it makes me smile.”

One of her first assignments for Nickles was to help him decide how to vote on Stephen Breyer’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“That’s pretty compelling for someone who’s been out of college for about 15 minutes,” she said.