Vol. 3 No. 32 | Aug. 9, 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
More
"If there is one thing the COVID-19 pandemic taught us, it was that people in many professions, ours included, could truly work from anywhere as long as they could access a reasonably reliable internet connection. For some, that might have been their kitchen table, the back porch, a makeshift office in a closet or, if they were lucky, a vacation home. Judging co-workers’ office spaces on a videoconference became 'a thing.' My go-to was the front seat of my 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, sitting in my driveway because it was the one place I was pretty sure my potty-training toddler would not appear on a Zoom meeting wearing only his PJ Masks Pull-Up (or less) or serenade participants on a conference call with his rendition of the musical theme to Paw Patrol. It would not have gotten me a high score on the Twitter account Room Rater, but it did bring me some much-needed peace and quiet."
"Upholding justice, maintaining the rule of law and safeguarding rights and freedoms are the cornerstones of the legal profession. These cornerstones also come with the great duty of ethical and professional responsibility.
The legal profession is surrounded by adversarial proceedings, high-conflict cases and emotions running high. Thus, the golden rule is a great guiding principle. The golden rule is classically phrased as, 'Do unto others as you’d have done unto you,' or paraphrased as, 'Treat others as you would like to be treated.' Some modern business experts advocate for rephrasing that as, 'Treat others as they would like to be treated.'
Many of us remember the golden rule from elementary school, but its principle can be found all around us. When we consider ethics, civility and professionalism in the legal realm, it makes sense that ideas of kindness, compassion and fairness should be encouraged. In fact, it should follow that we all desire and encourage individuals to extend the same considerations we desire for ourselves."
Content warning: This article discusses suicide and gun violence and contains graphic content.
"My brother, Doug, was a practicing Oklahoma lawyer. Like any of us, he had enjoyed success in school and work. He had a T-shirt that read, "I'll try anything once ... maybe twice," which summed up his personal philosophy. That credo could be shared by many lawyers. The DNA of an attorney is often uncommon intelligence blended with a need for excitement and risk, and the adrenaline and dopamine rush that comes with it."
988 SUICIDE AND CRISIS LIFELINE
According to the CDC, every 11 minutes, someone in the United States dies by suicide; suicide is the leading cause of death for those between 10 and 34 years of age.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a network of mental health centers across the nation assisting those with urgent mental health crises. If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call or text 9-8-8 to be connected with mental health professionals who are trained to help you overcome these difficult and urgent situations.
The OBA Young Lawyers Division is accepting nominating petitions for 2024 leadership. Nominating petitions, along with a photo and short bio, must be sent to derwin@holladaychilton.com by 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11, for publication in the Oklahoma Bar Journal. Ballots will be mailed Oct. 2 to YLD members, and results will be announced at the YLD meeting at the OBA Annual Meeting Nov. 1-3.
TIPS FROM THE YLD NOMINATING COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON, DYLAN ERWIN
- A sample nominating petition is available at https://bit.ly/3yL2mcB. This will give you an idea of the format and information required by OBA YLD bylaws (one is also available from the Nominating Committee). Email derwin@holladaychilton.com to request a nominating petition.
- Obtain signatures (electronic signatures are permitted) on your nominating petition from at least 10 lawyers who were first admitted to practice law in the state of Oklahoma within the past 10 years. Signatures on the nominating petitions do not have to be from young lawyers in your own district (the restriction on districts only applies to voting).
- Take your petition to local county bar meetings or the courthouse and introduce yourself to other young lawyers while asking them to sign – it’s a good way to start networking.
- You can have more than one petition for the same position and add the total number of original signatures.
- Don’t wait until the last minute – I will not accept petitions that are scanned and emailed after the deadline.
- Membership eligibility extends to Dec. 31 of any year that you are eligible.
- Membership eligibility starts from the date of your first admission to the practice of law, even if outside of the state of Oklahoma.
- All candidates’ photographs and brief biographical data are required to be published in the bar journal. All biographical data must be submitted by email, with no exceptions. Petitions submitted without a photograph and/or a brief bio are subject to disqualification at the discretion of the Nominating Committee.
The annual Legislative Debrief is an opportunity for OBA members to hear the latest updates on legislation that may impact their legal practice. This year's agenda will feature a legislative panel moderated by Administrative Director of the Courts Jari Askins as well as the always informative "60 Bills in 60 Minutes" session featuring updates on legislation impacting cannabis law, family law, criminal law, health law, civil procedure/courts and education bills. There is no cost to attend, and 3 hours of MCLE credit are available. Be sure to have this event on your August calendar!
Featured CLE
By OBA MAP Director Jim Calloway
An iPhone’s volume buttons serve an obvious purpose, but some are not aware of the other functions that can be accessed more easily by using the volume buttons.
Almost everyone takes photos and videos with their iPhone. But it can be awkward to hold the phone steady while simultaneously tapping on a target on the lower part of the screen. Next time, try the volume buttons, conveniently located by your fingers as you hold the phone.
Videos are shot the same way. Set the camera to video. You can either tap the volume key to start recording (and again to stop), or you can hold the button down until you release it to stop recording. You can also take a photo burst by holding down the volume up button in Photo mode. But you may have to enable that in Settings > Camera, turn on “Use Volume Up for Burst.”
Anyone who carried an iPhone in a pants pocket quickly learned it is quicker to silence a ringing phone by reaching into your pocket and squeezing the phone instead of fishing it out of your pocket. Not only will volume buttons silence a ringing phone but mute the vibrations as well.
Those who use the iPhone as an alarm clock probably already know you can snooze the alarm with either volume button.
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.