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About us

Sage Counsel seeks to provide wise advice to individuals and groups in order to arrive at a plan of action or behavior. The primary goal is to “impart wisdom and impact lives” and help clients achieve their optimal goals.

Proverbs 15: 22 states, "Plans fail for lack of counsel." Your personal and professional life require wisdom, insight, and advice. Sage Counsel can help through a variety of services.

If you need wisdom, HR consulting, legal insight, strategic advice, executive coaching, or people development, allow Jim Priest to serve you or your organization. With over 40 years as employment law lawyer and CEO of a major nonprofit, Jim has the experience and insight to help you reach your goals for excellence.

 

About Jim Priest

Jim Priest is a husband, dad, ordained minister, recovering trial lawyer, and former CEO of two nonprofits:  Goodwill Central Oklahoma and Sunbeam Family Services.

Jim has regularly appeared on television and before groups speaking and writing about employment law, workplace issues, ethics, marriage and family issues. For over ten years Jim has been a weekly columnist for the Oklahoman writing a column called "Family Talk" that addresses issues relating to marriage, parenting and families. He has also served as a columnist for the Journal Record newspaper writing columns on business ethics.

Jim is the husband of one wife: Diane, the father of two children: Amanda and Spencer, and is owned by one dog named Jeter. He is also an elite level grandfather of his namesake grandson, James.


Jim’s leadership style

Jim’s staffs would all describe him as a humble, connecting, visionary, servant leader. The Sunbeam staff created this video for Jim. 

 

This video titled Humility Introduction also provides insight into Jim’s leadership style.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

President and Founder
Sage Counsel
May 2019- Present


President and CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer)

Goodwill Central Oklahoma

March 2020-June 2024

 

2014 – 2019
Sunbeam Family Services, Inc.                                                                 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

  • Provided point leadership to a 110 year old non-profit with a fourteen million dollar budget and 160 employees, providing services to the poor and working poor including counseling, foster care, early childhood education and senior services.
  • Budget increased from $7 million to $13 million.
  • Initiated the first annual fundraising dinner for Sunbeam, successfully raising $140,000.
  • Initiated the first published history of Sunbeam with co-author Bob Burke
  • Re-organized the organizational chart and created a new strategic plan
  • Instituted a new “employee first” initiative, raising morale and significantly reducing turnover
  • Selected in 2017 as a “Most Admired CEO” by the Journal Record business newspaper

  

Executive Director, 2011 – 2014
F.A.T.E. INC., "Fighting Addiction Through Education"                             
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

  • Directed start-up activities for a substance abuse prevention education non-profit group including creation and implementation of organizational initiatives, strategic plans and all corresponding founding documents.
  • Orchestrated fundraising efforts through grants, donations and special events such as “Champions of FATE” which raised $50,000.
  • Facilitated development of multiple online and print marketing avenues including website and video content for www.fate.org and www.okloa.org, as well as informational brochures and magazine articles on substance abuse educational programs.
  • Implemented community outreach initiatives to introduce organization to community and increase community awareness of group educational services.
  • Authored the book “What’s Your Fate?” about the creation of F.A.T.E. and its programs.
  • Developed and presented live interactive presentations to large audiences including athletic convocations, high school and college student audiences and adult audiences.
  • Named 2011 Preventionist of the Year by the American Athletic Institute for work with Oklahoma Life of An Athlete, substance abuse prevention education.
  • F.A.T.E. was named one of the 2012 “Affiliates of the Year” by the Partnership at drugfree.org.

 

Attorney at Law, 2011 – 2014
RUBENSTEIN & PITTS LAW FIRM                                                                        
Edmond, Oklahoma
 

  • Of counsel. Representing a wide variety of clients in employment, civil rights and business litigation and counseling; presenting seminars to legal and business groups on diverse legal and ethics related subjects.  Handled cases, as a volunteer, for Oklahoma Lawyers for Children representing young children in child welfare cases.

 

Adjunct Professor of Law, 2012 to 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW                                    
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
 

  • Provided instruction in the areas of complex litigation and employment law.

 

Attorney, Partner  2005 – 2011
WHITTEN, BURRAGE, PRIEST, FULMER, ANDERSON & EISEL                
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
 

  • Provided advice and advocacy for clients in employment, civil rights and complex litigation matters; acted as counsel and advisor to businesses and individuals on legal and personal matters.
  • Facilitated extensive written and oral advocacy on behalf of a wide variety of clients.
  • Developed content for publications and delivered presentations to audiences of the Oklahoma Bar Association.
  • Created website content for www.employmentarmor.com, an employment law related website providing information and answers to workplace issues.

 

Attorney, Member of the Board of Directors 1980 – 2005
MCKINNEY & STRINGER                                                                           
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
 

  • Served on the Executive and Management committees with oversight of budget, personnel and operations for a 70 member, $10 million dollar revenue organization.
  • Organized and served as the administrative head for the Labor and Employment Services section for the firm; supervised activities of 10 attorneys responsible for the management of labor and employment functions with budget oversight of $1 million.
  • Orchestrated and led the firm’s annual employment law seminar attended by over five hundred clients. 
  • Coordinated complex litigation matters with every area of the firm including police misconduct and civil rights, environmental, corporate, commercial, insurance, and business litigation.
  • Provided counsel on a wide range of subjects, including legal compliance, strategic planning, employment, human resource issues, and corporate governance to top management of client companies, boards of directors and human resource professionals.

 

EDUCATION

 

Juris Doctor, Magna Cum Laude

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL, Syracuse, New York

  • Teaching Assistant, Dean’s List, Order of the Coif, Justinian Society, and member of the National Championship Mock Trial Team

 

Bachelor of Arts – History, Magna Cum Laude

HOUGHTON COLLEGE, Houghton, New York

  

AWARDS AND HONORS

  • 2017 selected as a Most Admired CEO by The Journal Record business newspaper
  • Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium “Executive Pilot” Award for outstanding ethical leadership in the state of Oklahoma 2014
  • Earl Sneed Award for Outstanding Contribution to Continuing Legal Education by Oklahoma Bar Association
  • Annually named in the annual publication The Best Lawyers in America
  • Annually named “Best of the Best” in Labor and Employment Law by Oklahoma Business Monthly magazine
  • Named a “Best Lawyer” by Corporate Counsel magazine  
  • Annually named a "Super Lawyer" by peer Oklahoma attorneys
  • Selected as a "Leader in the Law" by the Journal Record, Oklahoma City's business newspaper

 

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

  • Founder Oklahoma Life of An Athlete a substance abuse prevention education website and program
  • Organizer and Presenter for 25 years: OBA Law of the Workplace seminar
  • Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Former Board Member and President
  • Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene, Former Board Member
  • Variety Health Center, Former Board Member
  • Habitat for Humanity, Former Board Member
  • Marriage Network Oklahoma, Co-founder, www.marriagenetworkok.net
  • Leadership Edmond, Leadership Oklahoma City, and Leadership Oklahoma, Member
  • Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium, Founding Member and current board member
  • KWTV News 9 interview guest on substance abuse and marriage and family issues
  • Weekly Columnist for the Oklahoman on family issues 1996-2006, 2016-present
  • Frequent author and speaker on substance abuse, workplace issues, ethics, marriage and family issues
  • Butterfield Memorial Foundation Board Member

 

PUBLICATIONS

  • The Lawyer as Employer:  Why Do They Keep Changing the Rules? GP Solo, a publication of the American Bar Association, Jan/Feb 2007, Volume 24, Number 1 
  • How to Construct Your Own Successful Employment Case, A Handy Guide for the Practitioner, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Vol. 77, No. 9,  March 2006
  • Recent Developments in Oklahoma Class Action Law, University of Oklahoma Law Review, Volume 57, No. 4 (2005)
  • Watch Your Neck on White-Collar Exemption for Legal Assistants, Oklahoma Bar Journal, November 2004
  • Pro Bono Aid Needed Now More Than Ever, American Bar Association Journal, June 1996
  • The Shape of Things to Come, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Volume 68, No. 35, September 1997
  • Off Limits: Protect Your Employees from Harassment, Entrepreneur magazine, August 1998
  • After Acquired Evidence: Two Wrongs Can Make a Civil Right, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Vol. 66, No. 29, July 1995
  • Defending Police Misconduct Suits, AM JUR Trials, Volume 38, 1989
  • The Wake of Hinson v. Cameron: Choppy Waters for the Law of Wrongful Discharge, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Vol. 59  No. 40, October 1988
  • Employment Law. Oklahoma Police Chief Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3 Summer 1986, Vol. 2 No. 1 Winter 1987
  • Defending Police Misconduct Suits, For the Defense magazine, August and September 1986
  • Oklahoma’s Bad Faith Evolution, Oklahoma Bar Journal, Vol. 56 No. 21, May 1985

BOOKS

  • More Than A Store: The history of Goodwill Central Oklahoma, published 2021 with co-author Bob Burke
  • Changed Lives, The history of Sunbeam Family Services, published 2016 with co-author Bob Burke
  • What’s Your Fate? a volume discussing substance abuse in Oklahoma, published by Dustjacket 2012
  • Family Talk, a compilation of family advice newspaper columns originally published in the Oklahoman newspaper, published 1999