Cynda Ottaway is a director and chair of the firm’s Private Wealth & Closely-Held Business Practice Group in the Oklahoma City office. Her practice focuses on estate planning, trust and estate administration and planning for closely-held family businesses. Cynda has experience in wealth transfer techniques and assists individuals and businesses with succession planning.
Cynda is past president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), the leading trust and estate organization of peer-elected trust and estate lawyers. She has been a member for over 35 years and has served in other leadership roles with ACTEC including service on the Executive Committee, the Board of Regents and the ACTEC Foundation. Cynda is also a frequent speaker and writer for the organization, having served as co-reporter for the ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Fourth Edition.
In addition to her legal practice, Cynda is an active community volunteer in Oklahoma City, serving on several boards including United Way, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Board of Visitors for the College of Law and the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of Leadership Oklahoma City and Rotary Club 29.
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Norman, OK
J.D., with Honors, 1978
Honors:
Order of the Coif
Oklahoma Law Review
Corpus Juris Secundum Award
American Jurisprudence Awards
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK
B.A., 1975
Honors:
Phi Beta Kappa
President's Honor Roll
President's Scholar
Mortar Board
Oklahoma, 1978
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Past President, Board of Regents, Professional Responsibility Committee, Chair, Bylaws Committee, Nominating Committee, Annual Meeting Speaker, Chair of Environmental Committee, Program Committee, Member of Special Task Force Committees
Oklahoma City Estate Planning Council, Past President, Board of Directors
American Bar Association: Past Committee Vice Chair, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section
Oklahoma Bar Association: Past Chair, Estate Planning and Probate Section
International Academy of Estate and Trust Law, Member
Ranked in Super Lawyers, Estate Planning and Probate
Journal Record Woman of the Year Finalist
OKC Friday Newspaper's OKC's 50 Most Powerful Women Recipient
Listed in Best Lawyers in the field of Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law, Non-Profit/Charities Law, Tax Law, Trusts and Estates (1989 - Present)
Co-Reporter, ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Fourth Edition
Oklahoma Comments to the Oklahoma Uniform Prudent Investor Act
Co-Author, "What We Learned by Comparing the ACTEC Commentaries to NAELA"
Oklahoma Editor, Drafting the Durable Power of Attorney
“Discussion of State Trust Income Tax, State Estate and Gift Taxes, and Principal and Income Act”, Heart of America Fellows Institute
"Legal Issues in Art Authentication" 65th Annual Tulane Tax Institute
"They Can't Take It With Them: Planning and Valuing Art and Collectibles," The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Southern Regional Meeting
"Up, Up and Away: How to Navigate An Aircraft Transfer,"The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Fall Meeting
"They Can't Take It With Them: Planning and Valuing Art and Collectibles,"The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Hawaii Regional Meeting
"Executive Compensation and Performance Evaluations" and "Audit and Investment Committees: Financial Oversight," Oklahoma Bar Association New Challenges for Nonprofit Organizations Seminar
"Election Eve Estate Tax Predictions and Morning-After Estate Planning," Casady Advisor Series
"Oil and Gas Law 101 for Estate Planners," 61st Annual Tulane Tax Institute
"Ethical Representation of Family Business Clients in Estate Planning Matters," ACTEC-ALI CLE Teleconference
"How to Handle the Toughest Issues in the Operation and Succession of a Family Business," The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Summer Meeting
"Oil and Gas Law 101 for ACTEC Dummies, to Probate or Not to Probate: Mineral Interests in Estate Planning and Probate," The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Annual Meeting
"Playing by the Ethical Rules: How 'Engaging' Can Estate Planners Be," ACTEC/ALI-ABA Teleconference
The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools
United Way of Central Oklahoma
Allied Arts
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Chair of Board of Directors
Renaissance Ball, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Past Chair
University of Oklahoma College of Law, Board of Visitors
University of Oklahoma Honors College, Board of Visitors
Rotary Club 29, Member and Past Officer
United Way, Board of Directors, Executive Committee and Ethics Chair
Leadership Oklahoma City, Class XV
Served as a board member or volunteered for the following: Allied Arts, Junior League, The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools, Volunteer Center of Central Oklahoma, Founding Chair, Center for Non-Profit Management, Calm Waters, University of Oklahoma Breast Health Institute, United Way, Omniplex, Easter Seals, YMCA, St. Anthony’s Professional Advisory Board, Rainbow Fleet, Casady School, Westminster School, Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Future Fund Member, American Red Cross, Central Oklahoma Chapter, Board Member, Infant Crisis Center, Oklahoma City Arts Festival Volunteer
