The Name on the Door: Why Oklahoma's Ethics Rules Raise Questions About Drummond Law's Use of the Attorney General's Name

A homeowner in Tulsa gets served with a foreclosure. The letterhead on the petition reads Drummond Law, PLLC, 320 South Boulder Avenue, Suite 300, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103. The signature belongs to the Solicitor General of the State of Oklahoma. The firm's own marketing explicitly associates the Drummond name with Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a man who is four days from a statewide runoff election for governor.

This is the third in a series examining the dual-capacity legal practice of Oklahoma Solicitor General Garry Gaskins. The first article documented his private lawsuit on behalf of Blue Sky Bank, whose parent company, NBC Bancshares, is chaired by Attorney General Gentner Drummond. The second documented a foreclosure he filed that named the Oklahoma Tax Commission as a defendant, forcing the state to assign its own lawyer to respond. Both cases were filed through the same firm: Drummond Law.

The firm's use of Gentner Drummond's name and public-office title raises an issue Oklahoma Rule of Professional Conduct 7.5 expressly addresses.

What the Firm's Own Website Says

Drummond Law's website describes the arrangement in plain language. The firm's overview page leads with a headline identifying Gentner Drummond as a co-founder: ‘GENTNER DRUMMOND, Attorney General of Oklahoma (2022–Present). CO-FOUNDER DRUMMOND LAW.’

The page details Drummond's military service, his Georgetown law degree, his cattle ranch, and his business ventures — including Blue Sky Bank, the same bank the Solicitor General is representing in private litigation through this firm. Drummond's biography is the centerpiece of the firm's public identity.

Then comes the critical paragraph:

"Upon assuming the role of Attorney General, Drummond entrusted Drummond Law to a team of highly skilled and accomplished attorneys, ensuring the firm's continued success while dedicating himself to serving the people of Oklahoma."

That is the firm's own language, published on its own website. It says Drummond ‘entrusted’ the firm to its attorneys when he became Attorney General while dedicating himself to public service. That strongly suggests he stepped away from operating the practice, but it does not answer the question Rule 7.5(c) makes critical: Is he still ‘actively and regularly practicing with the firm’?

And the firm still carries the Drummond name while its website specifically uses Gentner Drummond's government title, ‘Attorney General of Oklahoma,’ as prominent marketing copy for a private Tulsa law practice.

What the Name Does

Think about what the name Drummond Law means to the person on the receiving end of one of its filings. A homeowner facing foreclosure opens an envelope and reads a petition from a firm whose own website prominently associates itself with the state's chief law enforcement officer, signed by Oklahoma's Solicitor General, the state's chief appellate lawyer. A bank receives a demand letter over a disputed check and sees the same name. The letterhead carries the implicit weight of the Attorney General's office whether or not the Attorney General himself drafted a single word.

Nobody has to prove that the name changed how a single case got handled. Nobody has to demonstrate that a judge ruled differently because the firm bore the Attorney General's name, or that an opposing party settled faster because they assumed the state's power stood behind the demand. The potential for that perception exists whether or not it is intentional. A private firm that prominently markets its association with a sitting statewide official, with filings signed by that official's Solicitor General, creates an obvious potential for private legal work to be associated with government authority.

That potential for confusion is why Rule 7.5 deserves close attention here.

The Rules

Oklahoma's Rules of Professional Conduct govern how law firms present themselves to the public. Rule 7.5 addresses firm names and letterheads. Rule 7.5(c) presents the clearest issue. Rules 7.5(a) and 7.5(d) raise additional questions, although their application is less straightforward.

Rule 7.5(a) prohibits a firm name, letterhead or professional designation that violates Rule 7.1, and permits a trade name only if it does not imply a connection with a government agency. Whether Drummond Law's marketing crosses that line is a separate question, but the website expressly identifies the firm's former leader by his current government title. The firm's own page headlines its founder as "GENTNER DRUMMOND, Attorney General of Oklahoma (2022–Present)." The title of the state's chief law enforcement officer is being used as the lead marketing copy for a private law firm.

Rule 7.5(c): The firm's own website says Drummond ‘entrusted’ the firm to a team upon becoming Attorney General while dedicating himself to public service. The website does not list Gentner Drummond among its current attorneys. What it does not tell the public is whether he nevertheless remains ‘actively and regularly practicing with the firm,’ the precise factual test contained in Rule 7.5(c)

Rule 7.5(d) prohibits lawyers from stating or implying that they practice in a partnership or organization when that is not the fact. The current website does not list Gentner Drummond among the firm's practicing attorneys, so Rule 7.5(d) is less clear-cut here than Rule 7.5(c). The stronger question is not whether the website falsely lists him as a current attorney. It does not. The stronger question is why his individual name, biography and current government title remain prominent in the firm's marketing if he is no longer actively and regularly practicing there.

One web page presents the central unanswered question: does Gentner Drummond remain actively and regularly practicing with the firm?

The Family Name Question

The most obvious defense is that ‘Drummond Law’ is a family name, not exclusively a reference to Gentner. Other Drummonds have been part of the practice. The firm's homepage says Thomas E. Drummond founded the practice in 1971, while a separate firm-overview page describes Gentner as a co-founder who later established the modern Drummond Law practice with his cousin Tom. Wendy P. Drummond has practiced there for nineteen years and is listed on the firm's website as a "seasoned attorney" and CEO of a multi-state company. The firm is a family operation with multiple Drummonds doing real legal work.

But the firm's own website does not make this argument. It does not lead with Tom Drummond. It does not lead with Wendy Drummond. It leads with "GENTNER DRUMMOND, Attorney General of Oklahoma (2022–Present)." His military biography. His Distinguished Flying Cross. His Georgetown degree. His business ventures. The firm's entire identity page is constructed around the most powerful Drummond in Oklahoma — the one who, by the firm's own account, left.

And the founding history complicates the firm-name question. Gentner Drummond's official state biography says he founded Drummond Law in 1999. The firm's homepage, however, says Thomas E. Drummond founded the practice in 1971, while another firm page calls Gentner a co-founder who established the firm with his cousin Tom. That makes it difficult to argue that the words ‘Drummond Law,’ standing alone, refer exclusively to Gentner. But Rule 7.5(c) goes further than the firm's name. It also covers the use of a public official lawyer's name ‘in communications on its behalf.’ And on the firm's marketing page, there is no ambiguity about which Drummond is being promoted: ‘GENTNER DRUMMOND, Attorney General of Oklahoma.’

The Question Rule 7.5(c) Forces

The rules create a paradox that implicates the Attorney General directly, regardless of which way the defense runs.

If Attorney General Drummond has not actively and regularly practiced with Drummond Law for a substantial period, Rule 7.5(c) becomes directly relevant because it expressly restricts the use of a public-office lawyer's name both in a firm's name and in communications on the firm's behalf. Whether Rules 7.5(a) or 7.5(d) are also implicated would depend on additional facts.

If the answer is that Drummond remains actively and regularly practicing with the private firm, that produces a different set of questions: what private legal work is he performing, how frequently is he performing it, what outside-employment rules apply, and what conflict and recusal safeguards separate that work from his duties as Attorney General?

Either answer creates a different set of questions. If Drummond is not actively and regularly practicing there, Rule 7.5(c) becomes central. If he is actively and regularly practicing there, the public deserves to know the scope of that private practice and the safeguards separating it from his public office. Meanwhile, the Solicitor General is actively initiating lawsuits under the banner "Drummond Law," filing petitions, signing pleadings, and paying court fees under a name that obliterates the line between private commercial litigation and state-sponsored legal action.

The Closed Loop

Step back and look at the complete picture. A private law firm prominently markets its historic connection to the Attorney General while listing Oklahoma Solicitor General Garry Gaskins among its current attorneys. The Solicitor General draws $205,485 a year in taxpayer money for a full-time state position. In his private capacity at the Attorney General's firm, he represents the Attorney General's own bank in commercial litigation. He also filed a foreclosure action naming the Oklahoma Tax Commission as a defendant, after which the state agency appeared through separate counsel.

The firm's own website lists Blue Sky Bank as one of Drummond's "ventures" — on the same page that says he "entrusted" the firm to others when he became Attorney General. The bank and the firm are presented together as components of Drummond's business portfolio. The Solicitor General, paid by taxpayers to serve the state, is the attorney connecting both.

The documented overlap is substantial without assuming where the private firm's profits ultimately go. Gaskins receives a state salary as Oklahoma's Solicitor General. Drummond Law simultaneously lists him as one of its attorneys. Court records show him performing private legal work through that firm, including representing a financial institution tied to the Attorney General who appointed him. Those facts raise legitimate questions about outside-employment approval, timekeeping, conflicts, recusals and whether any state resources are used in connection with private matters. The name on the door is what holds the entire loop together — it is the brand, the authority, and the shield, all at once.

Oklahoma's Rules of Professional Conduct emphasize lawyers' responsibilities as officers of the legal system and public citizens with special responsibility for the quality of justice. Rule 7.5 then imposes a specific restriction when a lawyer holding public office remains associated by name with a private practice. Former Attorney General John O'Connor confirmed that prior administrations treated the Solicitor General's position as strictly full-time, compensated accordingly, and prohibited exactly this kind of outside practice. The current arrangement is an acute deviation from both historical norms and the ethical baseline that governs every other attorney licensed in the state.

What Oklahomans Can Do Before August 25

Two things are available to any Oklahoma resident starting today. The Oklahoma Bar Association's Office of the General Counsel accepts public grievances against licensed attorneys, including sitting public officials. A formal grievance can be filed by any person with knowledge of the facts. The bar numbers are in the court filings: Garry M. Gaskins II, OBA #20212.

Second, Oklahoma's Open Records Act gives any person the right to submit a records request to the Attorney General's office. Request the Office's outside-employment policies and any records reflecting approval, disclosure, conflict review, recusals, timekeeping or use of state resources relating to Garry Gaskins' private legal practice.

In four days, Oklahoma Republicans decide whether the man whose name is on that letterhead becomes their nominee for governor.

His firm's website says he entrusted the practice to others. His name and Attorney General title remained prominent. And his Solicitor General continued filing private cases through the firm.

This is the public-private arrangement operating around the Attorney General's office while Drummond campaigns for the Governor's office.

Sources

1. ORPC Rule 7.5: Firm Names and Letterhead, Oklahoma Statutes (Westlaw)
2. In Re: Application of the OBA to Amend the Rules of Professional Conduct (2007), Oklahoma Supreme Court (Justia)
3. Ethics Opinion No. 322, Oklahoma Bar Association
4. Drummond Law, PLLC — Our Team, Drummond Law Firm website (accessed August 21, 2026)
5. Drummond Law, PLLC — Firm Overview, Drummond Law Firm website (accessed August 21, 2026)
6. "Chapter 4: Ethics & Professionalism," Atlanta Injury Lawyer (comparative analysis)
7. Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association, Vol. 60, No. 2, UNL Digital Commons
8. "So You're Going to Be a Judge: Ethical Issues for New Judges," UNL Digital Commons
9. Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct (2026), Oregon State Bar (comparative reference)
10. "Gentner Drummond Announces New Leadership Team," CapitolBeatOK
11. "Gentner Drummond," Wikipedia
12. Ethics Commission Employee Handbook, Oklahoma Digital Prairie
13. "Garry Gaskins," The Federalist Society
14. Blue Sky Bank v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Case No. CJ-25-220), District Court of Osage County, Oklahoma
15. Mabrey Bank v. Abel Duran Padilla et al. (Case No. CJ-2026-1754), District Court of Tulsa County, Oklahoma
16. State of Oklahoma Payroll, Fiscal Year 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational and journalistic purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. All factual claims are sourced from public court dockets filed with the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN), state payroll records published under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, publicly available legal filings, the full text of Oklahoma's Rules of Professional Conduct (Rule 7.5), and the Drummond Law Firm's own publicly accessible website. Guerrilla News is an independent journalism outlet and is not affiliated with any political candidate, government agency, law firm, or financial institution discussed in this report.