NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma College of Law will celebrate distinguished alumni at its annual Order of the Owl Hall of Fame ceremony on Thursday, February 20, 2025, at the Oklahoma Memorial Union. The Order of the Owl recognizes OU Law graduates who demonstrate leadership and service through outstanding accomplishments in their legal careers. Since its inception in 2011, more than 40 deserving OU Law alumni have been inducted into the Order of the Owl.
“We’re proud to recognize this year’s honorees and continue the tradition of recognizing some of OU Law’s most respected alumni,” said Anna Carpenter, dean of the OU College of Law. “Not only do these distinguished recipients embody the long-established mission and values of OU Law, but their lifelong body of work has positively impacted our university, state and nation. To them, we say thank you and welcome to the Order of the Owl.”
This year’s Order of the Owl honorees are:
- Valerie Couch
- Timothy DeGiusti
- Brad Henry
- Sean Burrage
Artoush Varshosaz will also be honored with the Order of the Parliamentarian, which recognizes more recent OU Law graduates for distinguished accomplishments in the first 20 years of their legal careers.
Valerie Couch (’83)
After graduating from OU Law in 1983, Valerie Couch spent 16 years in private practice as a trial lawyer with the Oklahoma City law firm Hartzog, Conger & Cason, handling cases in state and federal courts in Oklahoma and beyond.
Couch transitioned to the federal courts in 1999 when she was appointed to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. She served as a federal judge for 13 years and presided over civil and criminal matters, judicial settlement conferences, and the newly created CARE court providing intensive judicial supervision for federal offenders under supervised release.
In 2012, Couch became the 13th dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law. She also taught law school courses in Professionalism & Ethics, Evidence, Mediation, and Trial Practice. Couch continued to serve on several community boards, including the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum where she chaired the education committee and participated in the development of the Memorial’s Better Conversations program.
Since stepping out of the law school world, she has enjoyed a time of freedom with her family and community. In 2022, Couch was appointed by Mayor David Holt to serve as Chair of the nine-member Oklahoma City Human Rights Commission, a new commission whose mission is to protect the human rights of all Oklahoma City residents through education and conciliation efforts. She also currently serves on the 9-member Oklahoma Free Speech Committee, formed by the Oklahoma legislature as a committee of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
She has been married to Dr. Joe Couch for over 53 years, and they have two sons, Daniel and Ross, and two grandchildren.
Tim DeGiusti (’88)
Timothy DeGiusti, a United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, was born in 1962 in Oklahoma City, Okla. He is a 1988 graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. DeGiusti practiced with the firm Andrews, Davis, Legg, Bixler, Milsten & Price in Oklahoma City from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 2000. He was a founding partner of the Oklahoma City firm Holladay, Chilton & DeGiusti PLLC, where he practiced from 2000 to 2007. He was appointed to the federal bench in 2007 and currently serves as the Chief Judge in the Western District of Oklahoma. In 2023, he was designated by Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
From 1990 to 1993, DeGiusti was a prosecutor in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and in 2003 he retired from the Oklahoma Army National Guard after 22 years of combined active and reserve service. DeGiusti was an adjunct professor of law at the OU College of Law from 1998 to 2003 and serves on the OU College of Law Board of Visitors.
He was appointed by former Gov. Henry to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and served from 2003 to 2007. DeGiusti is an emeritus member and past president of the Luther Bohanon American Inn of Court and is a past president of the Oklahoma City Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He is also a past director of the Oklahoma County Bar Association and is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. In 2012, he received the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation Wall of Fame Award, and in 2017, he received the OU College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award. He and his wife, Elaine, have four children and three grandchildren.
Brad Henry (‘88)
Former Gov. Brad Henry serves as Of Counsel with the national business law firm of Spencer Fane LLP and is a founding member of Henry-Adams Companies, LLC, a general and business development consulting firm.
Henry served as Oklahoma's 26th governor. He was elected governor in 2002 and served two terms through January 10, 2011. Only the third governor to serve two consecutive terms, Henry, a Democrat, was re-elected in 2006 by the largest vote margin in modern times and the second largest margin in state history.
In 2010, Henry was appointed by former President Barack Obama as a charter member of the six-member Council of Governors. A charter member of the Governors’ Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center, Gov. Henry also served as Chairman of the Council of State Governments, the Southern Growth Policies Board, and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. He currently serves on numerous boards, including as Chair of the national board of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Chair of the board of directors of the Regional Transportation Authority of Central Oklahoma.
Henry was a President's Leadership Scholar at the University of Oklahoma, where he received the Gold Letseizer Medal as the Top Senior Graduate and earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1985. In 1988, Henry was awarded a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, where he served as managing editor of the Oklahoma Law Review.
Prior to his election, Henry practiced law with his father, Charles, in Shawnee, and served 10 years in the Oklahoma State Senate, chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee and serving as vice-chair of the Senate Economic Development Committee. Henry and his wife, Kim, have three daughters, Leah, Laynie and Baylee, and two granddaughters, Magnolia and Violet.
Sean Burrage (‘93)
Chancellor Sean Burrage is the chief executive officer for the Oklahoma State Regents of Higher Education. In this role, he leads a state system comprised of 25 state colleges and universities, 10 constituent agencies, one university center, and independent colleges and universities coordinated with the state system.
An educator, civic leader, and attorney, Burrage previously served as vice president for executive affairs and chief of staff at the University of Oklahoma, where he was responsible for leading and directing strategic projects, including matters involving university officials, community, and government leaders.
He is a past president of Southeastern Oklahoma State University and was managing partner with the Taylor Burrage Law Firm in Claremore. He served two terms in the Oklahoma State Senate, representing Rogers and Mayes Counties, during which he served as minority floor leader from 2011-14.
Burrage has been a member of numerous boards, councils and committees, including the Oklahoma State Regents’ Blueprint 2030 Strategic Planning Committee and the 2017 Task Force on the Future of Higher Education; former Gov. Mary Fallin’s Education Advisory Committee; the Rogers State University Foundation; the University Hospitals Authority and Trust; the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence; the Durant Economic Development Council; and the Durant Industrial Authority Board. He served as an associate bar examiner for the Oklahoma Bar Association and was named among the Best Lawyers in America and a Super Lawyer, both designations conferred by his peers. He was a Litigation Counsel of America Fellow and an Aspen-Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership.
Born in Durant and raised in Antlers, Okla., Burrage is a member of the Choctaw Nation and holds a bachelor’s in accounting and a Juris Doctor from OU. He and his wife, Julie, a Tulsa native and nonprofit consultant, have four sons.
Artoush Varshosaz (’08)
Artoush Varshosaz is a co-chair of the global litigation practice at K&L Gates LLP, one of the largest law firms in the world. He leads a practice of over 400 litigators in offices around the world. He also serves on the firm’s global advisory committee. In his practice, Varshosaz is an experienced litigator who represents large and middle-market companies and their boards of directors in complex commercial disputes, internal investigations, and financial services litigation. He has significant experience with state and federal law actions related to fiduciary duties, fraud, and insolvency-related actions. He is both a balanced advisor in the boardroom and zealous advocate in the courtroom.
Varshosaz has been recognized for his excellent client service and successful outcomes in complex matters in various trade publications and industry groups, including being recognized in Chambers USA, The Legal 500 U.S., Super Lawyers Top 100 in Texas, D Magazine - Best in Dallas, and Lawyers of Color - Nation’s Best. Outside his practice, Varshosaz volunteers to serve the University of Oklahoma - College of Law as a member of the Board of Visitors, the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance, and other nonprofit organizations. He has also been inducted to Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas. Varshosaz is married and has two boys.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.