Vol. 3 No. 35 | Aug. 30, 2023
Courts
No published opinions this week.
No published opinions this week.
No published opinions this week.
Dispositions Other than by Published Opinions
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma Court Calendar
The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is in session year round, unless otherwise noted. The Court regularly schedules conferences on Mondays and other days as needed.
Member Transitions
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Bar Center Holiday Hours
The Oklahoma Bar Center will be closed from 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, through Monday, Sept. 4, in recognition of the Labor Day holiday. Offices will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5, resuming regular business hours.
The deadline for submitting nominating petitions is 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1.
The Board of Governors is comprised of 17 active members of the Oklahoma Bar Association. One representative is elected for each of the nine Supreme Court judicial districts, as such districts existed prior to Jan. 1, 2020 [Order No. SCBD 4483 (2020 OK 17)], by lawyers in those respective districts plus three statewide at-large members and the Young Lawyers Division chairperson. Officers are the president, vice president, president-elect and secretary/treasurer.
For information on current board members and officers, visit the Board of Governors page.
"Public service and the provision of legal services for those who cannot afford them is a deeply rooted ethical obligation for attorneys. Sections 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 of the OBA Standards of Professionalism all underscore this obligation and start to highlight the myriad ways it can be meaningfully met. The American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct lay out this expectation as well, in Rule 6.1, stating that lawyers have a professional responsibility to provide legal services to those who cannot afford it and should aspire to contribute at least 50 hours of pro bono service annually.
Law schools regularly educate students on the importance of pro bono, encouraging consistent service through voluntary pro bono pledges – a feature at all three of Oklahoma’s law schools. Why, then, do so few of our attorneys regularly engage in pro bono work? We believe the challenge lies in three primary areas:
- A lack of understanding about the range of ways to help those in need or the most effective ways to make a difference.
- A belief that the practice of law is a zero-sum game and time spent on pro bono is necessarily at the expense of fee-generating work.
- A disconnect between those in need and those who can help."
"When dealing with a probate proceeding for a decedent who dies while a resident of Oklahoma, 1) be sure to file the proceeding in the county of the decedent’s residence on the date of the decedent’s death (this information is provided on the face of the decedent’s death certificate, which is probably a strong piece of evidence), 2) if a completed proceeding (final decree) is to be challenged, be sure the challenge is made before Nov. 1, 2023, by transferring it to the right county and dismissing the prior proceeding (with prejudice) and (presumably) redoing all actions in the new proceeding, and 3) be sure to a) transfer any and all still-pending proceedings (i.e., not completed) to the right county, b) dismiss the wrong proceeding and c) (presumably) redo all the usual steps, even if already completed."
The full agenda is now available for the OBA Women in Law Section 2023 Women in Law Conference at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City. This year's event, to be held Sept. 22, will feature Chandler Baker, a New York Times bestselling author, as keynote speaker. Her works include Cutting Teeth, The Husbands and Whisper Network, which was a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick. Ms. Baker attended the University of Texas School of Law and worked as a lawyer for a major sports franchise and as a corporate attorney. The Women in Law Conference will be worth 6 hours of MCLE, and the Mona Salyer Lambird Spotlight Awards will be presented at the conference. Register today!
Join OBA CLE and the OBA Energy and Natural Resources Law Section Wednesday, Sept. 6 for "Foundations in Energy and Natural Resource Law for the Lawyer with No Foundation."
This in-person program will provide a basic introduction and understanding for the general practitioner and lawyer whose practice is not focused on energy and natural resources law. The program begins at 1 p.m. at the historic First National Center located at 120 N. Robinson Ave. in downtown Oklahoma City. Attendees will receive 4.5 hours of general CLE. Cost: $100. View the full agenda online.
Featured CLE
By OBA MAP Director Jim Calloway
This week’s post highlights a resource you may already know about. I’ve mentioned it several times over the years. But it is worth noting again that lawyers who use iPhones and iPads simply won’t find a better resource than Jeff Richardson’s iPhone J.D.
- Mr. Richardson reviews apps that a lawyer might use along with some apps everyone needs. For example, he recently reviewed Goodnotes 6, an app that facilitates taking handwritten notes on the iPad. If, in addition to handwritten notes, you like to draw figures, charts or diagrams, this app should serve you well. Goodnotes 6 costs either $9.99 a year or a one-time purchase price of $29.99. You can also try out the free version first to see if you like it.
- He maintains an index of his past posts and reviews, which means even if he hasn’t yet reviewed the latest app you are interested in using, it is easy to locate where he reviewed the prior version two years ago.
- He is a great source of news about these tools. He and well-known legal technologist Brett Burney do a weekly podcast, "In the News," where they discuss all things Apple. He also does "In the News" blog posts, like this one for Aug. 25, where he references many blog posts, reviews and product announcements he found useful since his previous news post.
The Oklahoma Bar Journal is a publication of the Oklahoma Bar Association. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2023 Oklahoma Bar Association. Statements or opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff. Although advertising copy is reviewed, no endorsement of any product or service offered by any advertisement is intended or implied by publication. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their ads, and the OBA reserves the right to edit or reject any advertising copy for any reason. Legal articles carried in The Oklahoma Bar Journal are selected by the Board of Editors. Information about submissions can be found at www.okbar.org.