B.A. City Attorney Living His Childhood Dream
By BOB LEWIS
Contributing Writer
Broken Arrow City Attorney Trevor Dennis is living proof that childhood dreams can come true.
Maybe it was because he grew up in the generation when ‘LA Law’ was the hottest show on television, he quips, “but I knew at any early age that I wanted to be a lawyer.”
Being part of his high school’s debate team and participation in Boy’s State helped lay the foundation for fulfillment of his dream. But it was the opportunity to work in a small law firm in his hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas. that launched him on a career path that led to Kansas State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1999 and the University of Tulsa College of Law where he received his Juris Doctorate 2003.
After graduating, Dennis served as an intern with a Tulsa law firm specializing in medical malpractice cases, working his way up the corporate ladder to the position of Associate Attorney. When given the opportunity to join the City of Broken Arrow’s Legal Department as Assistant City Attorney in 2009, he was both eager and well prepared.
With the retirement of long-time City Attorney Beth Anne Wilkening in 2018, he was tapped to take the reins of the department that consists of six attorneys and two full-time and one part-time legal assistants. His job description includes a myriad of responsibilities including being the chief legal advisor to the City Council, commissions and authorities.
Dennis says his time in city government has been everything he had hoped it would be – and perhaps a bit more.
“The thing about working for a municipality is you never know what will walk through the front door,” he said. Illustrating this fact has been a diversity of challenges ranging from a resident who insisted he had every right to keep a small pony in his backyard as a family pet to development of meaningful regulations on the emerging medical marijuana industry.
Away from the office, Dennis is a dedicated family man with a wife and two children, the oldest of whom is involved in competitive cheer. He is also getting involved in the long-standing Oklahoma passion of deer hunting – not with a rifle, but a cross bow.
“I really love the outdoors and being in the woods,” he said. He admits he has yet to bag his first deer but is hopeful that situation will change in the near future.
Dennis says his career goal is to be Broken Arrow’s city attorney for a very long time.
“I truly love being able to serve this community,” he said. “My predecessor was here, I believe, for 20 years. I would like to continue that trend and intend to stick around for as long as they will have me.”
Updated 01-16-2019
READER COMMENTS
