More Than 50 Years of Recognized Legal Achievement at Lawter & Associates, PLLC

From State Legislative Leadership and National Trial Lawyers Recognition to Four American Jurisprudence Awards and Summa Cum Laude Honors, Here Is the Team Oklahoma Relies On

Lawter & Associates, PLLC was founded in Oklahoma City in 1974 and has served injured clients throughout Oklahoma for more than 50 years, with offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Founding attorney J. Mike Lawter built our firm on one guiding principle: treat everyone the same. That principle has shaped a legal team whose credentials span former state legislative service, national peer-reviewed recognition, academic distinction, and decades of results in personal injury and workers’ compensation cases across the state.

What follows is a full account of the professional recognition, civic accomplishments, academic honors, and case results that define the attorneys at Lawter & Associates, PLLC.

J. Mike Lawter – Founder and Lead Attorney

J. Mike Lawter founded Lawter & Associates, PLLC, in Oklahoma City in 1974 after graduating from Oklahoma City University School of Law, where he earned recognition as an Outstanding Senior by the OCU Law School Alumni Association, served as Senior Class President, and was inducted into Phi Delta Phi, the national honors legal fraternity. He had previously earned his undergraduate degree from Central State University in 1971, where he was named to the President’s Honor Roll and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

Two years into his legal career, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and served in that capacity for a full decade, from 1976 to 1986. During his legislative tenure he chaired the House Industry and Labor Relations Committee, a role that placed him at the center of the workers’ and employment rights issues that still define much of our firm’s practice today. He has maintained bar memberships in the Oklahoma Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, American Bar Association, and Tulsa County Bar Association, and is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Western, Eastern, and Northern Districts of Oklahoma, as well as the United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Outstanding Legislator, United Auto Workers: For his work on the House Industry and Labor Relations Committee during his decade in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, attorney Lawter received the Outstanding Legislator Award from the United Auto Workers (UAW), recognizing his advocacy for working Oklahomans during a period of significant labor and employment law activity at the state level.
Who’s Who in American Politics, Personalities of the South, and Outstanding Young Men in America: Attorney Lawter has been recognized in Who’s Who in American Politics and Personalities of the South, and was named among Outstanding Young Men in America, three biographical compilations that documented his combined legal and legislative career. He also received the YMCA Community Development Award and the OCU Law School Alumni Association Award, presented at his graduation from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1974.
Oklahoma Bar Association and U.S. District Court Admissions: In addition to state bar admissions in Oklahoma and Texas, attorney Lawter is admitted to practice in three federal district courts in Oklahoma and before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, a breadth of federal court access that reflects more than five decades of continuous practice and standing within the Oklahoma legal community.

Timothy S. Reese – Workers’ Compensation Supervising Attorney

Timothy S. Reese joined Lawter & Associates in 1985 and has served as Workers’ Compensation Supervising Attorney for our firm for more than four decades. He earned his undergraduate degree in Urban Affairs from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1984, where he served as Student Government President and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, then went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1991 graduating summa cum laude and inducted into Phi Delta Phi, the national honors legal fraternity.

During his time at OCU Law, attorney Reese received four separate American Jurisprudence Awards, the academic recognition given to the top-performing student in a given law school course, earning that distinction in Contracts, Evidence, Criminal Law, and Property. He has since become a lecturer to the Oklahoma Bar Association on workers’ compensation law, a teaching role that reflects the depth of substantive knowledge he has accumulated over 40-plus years of workers’ compensation practice in Oklahoma.

Four American Jurisprudence Awards, OCU Law: During his legal education at Oklahoma City University School of Law, attorney Reese earned American Jurisprudence Awards in Contracts, Evidence, Criminal Law, and Property, each recognizing the top academic performance in that subject among his law school class. Combined with graduating summa cum laude, his academic record at OCU Law is among the most decorated of any practicing workers’ compensation attorney in the state.
Oklahoma Bar Association Lecturer on Workers’ Compensation: Attorney Reese has been invited to lecture to the Oklahoma Bar Association on workers’ compensation law, a distinction reflecting the professional recognition of his expertise within the state’s legal community. Very few practitioners are invited to teach continuing legal education content to fellow members of the bar on their primary area of practice

Matthew Reinstein – Litigation Attorney

Matthew Reinstein has been our firm’s litigation attorney since 1997, handling personal injury cases throughout Oklahoma from offices in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. He earned his undergraduate degree in History from Tulane University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma in 1996, where he was recognized as the Board of Advocates Best Overall Speaker in the Moot Court Competition, a distinction reflecting both advocacy skill and the kind of courtroom presence that carries into actual trial work.

Attorney Reinstein holds bar memberships in the Oklahoma Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, Chickasaw Bar Association, American Bar Association, Oklahoma County Bar Association, and Oklahoma Association for Justice, and is admitted to practice in all three federal districts in Oklahoma. He is also a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association. That breadth of bar affiliations reflects a career spent handling complex personal injury litigation across jurisdictions, with courtroom and negotiation experience accumulated over nearly three decades at our firm.

National Trial Lawyers Top 100: Attorney Reinstein holds membership in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100, an invitation-only organization selecting the premier civil plaintiff and criminal defense trial attorneys from each state through a combination of peer nomination and independent review. Selection is limited to attorneys with demonstrated trial results and peer recognition from within the plaintiff and defense trial bar.
Board of Advocates Best Overall Speaker, University of Oklahoma Moot Court: During law school at the University of Oklahoma, attorney Reinstein was recognized as the Board of Advocates Best Overall Speaker in the Moot Court Competition, an award measuring legal argument, oral advocacy, and performance under adversarial questioning. The skills that earned that distinction in law school are the same skills applied every time a case reaches mediation, arbitration, or trial.

Hunter Etchieson – Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Hunter Etchieson joined Lawter & Associates in 2025 after earning both his Bachelor of Business Administration and his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma, where he was a lifelong Sooner fan and competitive swimmer. He focuses exclusively on workers’ compensation cases, working alongside supervising attorney Timothy Reese to support injured Oklahoma employees through the claims process. His approach to every file is detail-oriented and thorough, and he takes particular pride in making sure clients feel heard and informed at every step.

Grace Pence – Attorney

Grace Pence joined Lawter & Associates in August 2025 after earning her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Texas Tech University and her Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University School of Law. She passed the Oklahoma bar examination on her first attempt and was immediately sworn in as an attorney, which she identifies as her proudest professional accomplishment. Attorney Pence brings a collaborative and reliable work ethic to the team and supports clients throughout the state from our firm’s Oklahoma City office.

Firm Recognition and Community Commitment

Lawter & Associates, PLLC, is listed in the Law.com Lawyerpages directory, which recognizes our firm among Oklahoma City’s established personal injury and workers’ compensation practices. Our case results page reflects a track record of significant settlements and mediation outcomes across motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian accidents, and workers’ compensation cases, including an $890,000 mediation result for a client whose spinal injuries required surgical placement of rods and screws after a tow truck rear-ended their vehicle on Highway 9.

The Last Bass Tournament, Sole Sponsor: Lawter & Associates is the sole sponsor of The Last Bass Tournament, an annual two-person team fishing tournament open to all participants, with a 100 percent payback structure supplemented by an additional $4,000 contributed by our firm. The tournament has run continuously since at least, making it one of the most consistent community sponsorships maintained by any Oklahoma personal injury law firm over that period.
Labor Golf Tournament, Sole Sponsor: Our firm also serves as sole sponsor of the annual Labor Golf Tournament, a community event that reflects the same commitment to Oklahoma working families that has defined our firm’s legal practice since J. Mike Lawter chaired the House Industry and Labor Relations Committee in the 1970s and 1980s.

Contact Lawter & Associates, PLLC, for a Free Consultation

If you or someone you love has been injured in a car accident, truck accident, motorcycle crash, or workplace accident anywhere in Oklahoma, contact Lawter & Associates, PLLC today for a free case evaluation. Our attorneys represent personal injury and workers’ compensation clients on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. With offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, our team is ready to help you make things right.