Volume 2 No. 4 | January 26, 2022

Courts

120,106 - IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF THE OKLAHOMA DEVELOPMENT FINANCE AUTHORITY FOR APPROVAL OF NOT TO EXCEED $800,000,000 RATEPAYER-BACKED BONDS (OG&E), SERIES 2022 (FEDERALLY TAXABLE)

The Oklahoma Supreme Court will livestream the Referee Hearing set for Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. in the Application of the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority for Approval of not to Exceed $800,000,000 Ratepayer-Backed Bonds (Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company), Series 2022 (Federally Taxable) as the Oklahoma Judicial Center remains closed to visitors. Only those parties who have filed a written protest with the Court by January 24, 2022, will be admitted into the Oklahoma Judicial Center.

No published opinions this week. 

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.

SOLO SAVE DATE (300 X 300 Px) (1)

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The 2022 session for the Oklahoma Legislature is upon us, and the Legislative Monitoring Committee is working to ensure all OBA members are aware of any proposed legislation that could affect your legal practice. Join us online for the OBA’s Legislative Kickoff on Friday, Jan. 28. Due to current COVID-safety protocols, the event will be virtual. Register to watch it online.

 

"As always, I encourage you to become a member of the Legislative Monitoring Committee. The Committee is the OBA’s largest and one of its most active, with attorneys participating from around the state. If you are already a member, continue to sign on and use the MyOKBar Communities page on the OBA website to communicate with the committee." – Miles Pringle, committee chair

The kickoff begins at 9:30 with a welcome from OBA President Jim Hicks.

We are so appreciative of all our Legislative Kickoff volunteer presenters:

90 Bills in 90 Minutes

SPEAKERS:

  • Cannabis Bills | Adria Berry
  • Criminal Law | David McKenzie
  • Elder Law & Estate Planning | Stephanie Alleman
  • Government Law | Jennifer Walford
  • Civil Procedure/Courts | Jake Krattiger
  • Environmental/Natural Resources | Kaylee P. Davis-Maddy
  • Education Law | Haley Drusen
  • Native American Law | Austin R. Vance
  • Family Law | Monica Dionisio

Legislative Panel

  • Moderator Miles Pringle
  • Sen. Kay Floyd
  • Sen. Brent Howard
  • Rep. Emily Virgin
  • Rep. Chris Kannady

Judge Donald Wortthington

Donald L. Worthington, age 95, retired district judge of Payne and Logan counties, died Tuesday, Jan. 18 at the Stillwater Medical Center. He was born in Dewey County near Canton on Aug. 3, 1926. As a teenager, he moved with his family to a farm near Braman and graduated from high school there.

Judge Worthington enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.

In 1950, he graduated from OU College of Law. He began his legal career as an attorney for Phillips Petroleum Company before going into the general practice of law in Cushing in 1951. In 1965 he moved his offices to Stillwater.

In 1987, he was elected district judge of Payne and Logan counties, a position he held until his retirement in 2010. In 1997, he was appointed by the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court to represent the judiciary on a task force dedicated to the improvement of the state criminal justice system. In 2006, he received the OBA Award of Judicial Excellence and was inducted into the Stillwater Hall of Fame. In 2013 the Oklahoma Supreme Court bestowed upon him its Judicial Excellence Award for his leadership in establishing and maintaining the competence and integrity of the Oklahoma courts. The Payne County Bar Association recognized his 70 years of service to the practice of law in 2021.

View Judge Worthington’s full obituary. 

 

Featured Continuing Legal Education

Applications for Oklahoma Bar Foundation Court Grants, IOLTA Grants, Mortgage Foreclosure/Community Redevelopment Grants, and Court Reporter Rural Service Employment and Educational Block Grants are open. All OBF grant funds must be used exclusively for charitable purposes in a manner consistent with the mission of the OBF.

Read more about the grants and application process. 

The ABA TECHSHOW Conference and EXPO, March 2-5, is where lawyers, legal professionals and technology all come together. Attendees, in person and online, will learn about useful and practical technologies available. Save $100 off standard registration by registering with code EP2205.

Alert the students and teachers you know. The deadline for entries to the annual Law Day Student Contest has been extended to Feb. 4.

"We want to ensure all Oklahoma students have the opportunity to participate ... Due to the challenges presented by the pandemic, more time will be offered this year to allow impacted teachers, parents and students to submit entries,” said Law Day Committee Chair Ed Wunch, chairperson.

Read more ... 

By Jim Calloway, director, Management Assistance Program 

Most lawyers receive a lot of email.

Every few months, I find myself unsubscribing from some email update service I subscribed to previously that sounded like a good idea at the time.

OBA provides Lexology as a member benefit. But sometimes less is more, and limiting the subjects for which you receive updates makes Lexology more valuable rather than less, in my view. If you are opening Lexology emails to 50 suggested articles to read that week, you may find yourself deciding you don’t have the time to read any. But if you have fine-tuned the content and only receive four or five suggestions based on your unique situation, it may be a more valuable tool.

Read more to find out how to curate your Lexology account.