Nobody plans for the day they will need a trial lawyer.
It may begin with a serious crash, a medical mistake, or a nursing home that cannot explain what happened to someone you love. Suddenly, there are questions about treatment, lost income, and how your family will get through the months ahead. You need someone who will investigate, give you straight answers, and be prepared to act.
That is the work of Maples Harrison Zeaman PLLC, an Edmond trial law firm representing injured people and families throughout Oklahoma. Partners L. Ray Maples II, Rilee Harrison, and Christian Zeaman bring different backgrounds to a shared commitment: helping people hold those responsible for serious harm accountable.
Ray Maples and a career spent standing up for people
Ray grew up in South Georgia, raised by his mother and grandmother. He earned a marketing degree from Valdosta State University in 1993 and his law degree from Oklahoma City University in 1999. His legal career began at an Atlanta firm representing corporations and insurance companies in personal injury litigation.
That experience gave him a firsthand view of the resources an injured person can face across the courtroom. He chose to devote his career to representing those people and their families. For roughly twenty-five years, his work has included catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, nursing home neglect, trucking collisions, and defective products.
Ray has been selected to Oklahoma Super Lawyers every year since 2013. He is a lifetime member of both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. His professional recognition also includes Martindale-Hubbell's AV Preeminent peer rating, an Avvo rating of 10.0 Superb, and inclusion in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 in Oklahoma. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Away from work, Ray loves spending time with his wife, Julie, and the four children who make up their blended family. He enjoys traveling with family, cheering on the Oklahoma City Thunder, and following OU sports.
A partnership built around trial work
In 2026, Ray joined forces with Rilee Harrison and Christian Zeaman to form Maples Harrison Zeaman.
Rilee Harrison previously practiced at Cain Law. Admitted to the Oklahoma Bar in 2019, he focuses on representing people and families affected by serious injuries. He has been selected to Super Lawyers Rising Stars each year from 2023 through 2026 and has served in leadership roles with the Oklahoma Association for Justice.
Rilee prepares each case with a jury in mind, developing evidence early and working through the medical issues. That preparation supports settlement discussions and allows him to explain at trial how an injury has changed a client's life.
Christian Zeaman has practiced law in Oklahoma since 2000, when he graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law. His early courtroom experience included assisting in three capital murder trials while working with a criminal defense firm. He later established his own practice and expanded into personal injury litigation in 2012.
Christian has been selected to Super Lawyers in 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026. He believes civil lawsuits can help compensate injured people, expose dangerous conduct, and discourage future harm.
Serious injuries require serious preparation
MHZ handles catastrophic and brain injuries, trucking and other motor vehicle collisions, medical and hospital malpractice, nursing home neglect and abuse, defective products, oil field injuries, insurance bad faith, and wrongful death.
These cases often require thousands of pages of records, expert testimony, and careful investigation. The firm advances litigation expenses while clients focus on their families and recovery. Each client's fee agreement explains the terms of the representation.
A record of substantial recoveries
The attorneys now at MHZ have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients over their careers. The firm's published results include a $14 million wrongful death settlement, a $7.5 million medical malpractice settlement involving permanent neurological injury, and a $3 million jury verdict in a nursing home wrongful death case. These examples include work performed before MHZ was formed.
Every case depends on its own facts and legal merits. These past results do not predict or guarantee the outcome of another case and should not create an expectation of a similar recovery. Settlements result from private negotiations and can be influenced by considerations beyond the legal merits of a claim.
Supporting the communities they serve
Maples Harrison Zeaman is Oklahoma Approved's Community Sponsor for Edmond and Oklahoma City and was the first business to support the directory through a sponsorship. This article is published as part of that Community Sponsor placement.
Choosing people over profits means understanding the person behind a claim and doing the work the case requires. Families facing a serious injury or unexpected death can contact MHZ for a free consultation to discuss what happened and learn about their options.
Maples Harrison Zeaman PLLC
16362 Muirfield Place, Edmond, OK 73013
(405) 705-5050 | mhzlawfirm.com