Sarah J. Timberlake

Sarah J. Timberlake has been a partner with Abowitz, Timberlake, Dahnke & Gisinger, P.C., in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for over twenty-five years and currently serves as the Managing Partner.  She joined the firm in 1980 upon graduation from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.  She received her undergraduate degree from the same school, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  Her professional experience includes the areas of employment, bad faith, coverage, insurance, general negligence, premises liability, products liability and transportation law and she maintains a trial and appellate practice in these areas while also counseling clients on dispute resolution alternatives.  She is admitted to practice in all Oklahoma state courts, the United States District Courts for the Western, Eastern and Northern Districts of Oklahoma, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.

In 1992, Ms. Timberlake was selected by her peers to be a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and she currently serves on the Board of Directors.  She previously served as Vice-President, Vice-Chair and Section Chair of the Transportation Section, the External Projects Committee, and received the John Alan Appleman Award in 2002.  Through the FDCC, she has chaired and presented several national programs, including the Risk Analysis Symposium, the Mold Conference, and the first Corporate Counsel Symposium.  Most recently, she has chaired the programs for the FDCC's Leadership Institute in Chicago.

Ms. Timberlake has been active in her county and state bar associations.  She chaired the Insurance Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association and served as Trustee and Managing Trustee of the Oklahoma Bar Association Group Insurance Trust in addition to her participation on the Bench & Bar Committee and Judicial Evaluation Panel.  She was elected President and Secretary-Treasurer of the Oklahoma Association of Defense Counsel.  Ms. Timberlake has been recognized in Oklahoma as a "Super Lawyer" and among the top twenty-five Super Women Lawyers.

REPRESENTATIVE CASE OF NOTE:

• Progressive Casualty Ins. Co. v. Engemann
  268 F.3d 985 (10th Cir. 2001)
  [Obtained a declaratory judgment for a motor carrier liability insurer where it was determined that coverage was not provided for claims against the motor carrier and its driver for injuries sustained when plaintiff was injured during a fight occurring at a truck stop.]