Attorneys

Biography

Marc Edwards is a Shareholder in the Litigation Department and heads up the Firm’s governmental relations practice group. He has more than twenty years experience representing business and public entities in a broad range of litigation, administrative proceedings and strategic legal matters, with an emphasis on public utility, public pension, governmental and administrative laws.

Marc served as an Assistant Attorney General from 1983 to 1987. He also served as the Hearing Examiner for the Oklahoma State Ethics Commission from 1995 to 1998.

Born in Texas, raised in Missouri, Marc lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Nikki Jones Edwards, their son, Sam, and dog, Jackie. In his spare time, Marc enjoys fly fishing, traveling with his wife and piddling around the house.

Representative Experience

  • Leads one of the largest Governmental Relations and Administrative Law practices in Oklahoma, representing numerous state agencies, or businesses and individuals before state agencies and the Legislature.
  • Provides strategic legal representation to many of the state's public pension plans administering over $3 billion in assets with more than 20,000 members or beneficiaries, including the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System, the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System, and the Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System. Has served as general counsel for the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System since 1994.
  • Represents pension clients routinely on compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, including the pension statutes for the state’s pension systems, the Open Meeting Act, the Open Records Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, the state’s applicable personnel and purchasing statutes, and applicable federal statues such as the ADA, ADEA, FMLA and USERRA. He routinely advises pension clients on fiduciary and constitutional law issues that arise concerning pension benefits for pensioners and beneficiaries.
  • Has represented the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System in numerous lawsuits in the state and federal and appellate courts. Of particular interest, he was instrumental in obtaining dismissals both in federal and state courts of lawsuits filed against the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System by members seeking additional military credited service time. He also assisted the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office in similar lawsuits brought against the state’s other pension systems.
  • Is responsible for the pension system becoming an active participant in national class action securities fraud lawsuits. Through the retention of national securities law firms, the pension system has been appointed lead plaintiff in several major class action lawsuits. In fact, one lawsuit recently settled, as one of the top class action lawsuits brought by an institutional investor in terms of money recovered for the class.
  • Has negotiated and drafted hundreds of investment funds contracts in traditional investment vehicles and has participated in the negotiation and drafting of contracts for alternative investments such as limited partnerships, co-mingled investment funds, funds of funds (i.e. Hedge Funds), Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and passive investment funds.
  • Provides strategic legal representation to one of the largest communications companies in the state before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and numerous municipalities around the state.
  • Has represented a variety of telecommunications carriers on numerous telecommunications issues, including certificates of authority, regulatory compliance, interconnection negotiations and arbitrations, cable television and transactional matters. Representing competitive local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers and commercial mobile radio services providers, he regularly appears before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and in state and federal courts on telecommunications matters.
  • Is active in administrative rulemaking proceedings before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and other state agencies. He has assisted clients by monitoring and analyzing proposed and final agency actions concerning such matters as telecommunications regluations and administrative proceedings. He has also represented clients in agency investigations and adjudicatory matters, including hearings before administrative law judges and hearing officers, as well as appeals from agency decisions.
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Marc Edwards