Vol. 5 No. 20 | May 14, 2025
Courts
No published opinions this week.
- 2025 OK CIV APP 13: THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA ex rel. PANTER v. MCVEA
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
"Oklahoma's cannabis industry has experienced unprecedented growth – and obstacles – since medical marijuana was legalized in 2018. With just over 900 active Oklahoma medical marijuana processing licenses, this evolving sector presents both opportunities and significant regulatory challenges. Unlike cultivators and dispensaries, processors operate in a uniquely complex space, necessitating clear guidelines on manufacturing, safety and compliance. However, Oklahoma's regulatory framework fails to understand and define key industry terms, leading to inconsistent enforcement, compliance confusion and industry uncertainty."
"In the summer of 1997, when I first reported for work at the OBA to develop a program to assist practicing lawyers, I certainly didn’t anticipate I would be retiring from the OBA 28 years later. But here we are. I’ll be retiring at the end of May.
Retirement brings mixed emotions – from the sadness of moving on to the happy anticipation of what’s next. But primarily, I feel gratitude. The relationships I have developed with so many lawyers have been rewarding, and one of the best things was rarely having to argue with other members of the bar. Since this is my last 'Law Practice Tips' column, I do promise to end with some tips."
The Oklahoma Human Services Department recently announced that, effective May 1, an update has been made to the child support guidelines computation form pertaining to the table used to compute cash medical support. The update regards a change in federal poverty level guidelines used in the cash medical computation; the update has resulted in an increase to 300% of the federal poverty guidelines to be used in determining the cash medical computation. More information is available at the Oklahoma Human Services website.
The Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) consists of 15 unpaid volunteer members. Of the 15 members, only six are lawyers. Lawyer commissioners are elected by their fellow Oklahoma Bar Association members, each representing one of six congressional districts across the state, as they were in 1967 when the commission was established. They each serve a 6-year term. Elections are held each odd-numbered year for members from two districts.
In 2025, there will be elections for members in Districts 3 and 4. District 3 is composed of 22 counties in the eastern and southeastern parts of the state, and District 4 is composed of 13 counties in the western and southwestern parts of the state, along with a portion of Oklahoma County, as those congressional districts existed in 1967.
Nominating petitions must be received at the bar center by 5 p.m. May 16.
When submitting a nominating petition, candidates should include a biography of 100 words or fewer and a photo (preferably both digital). Email Mark Schneidewent for additional details and a sample bio format.
Time is running out to save on registration with the early-bird discount for the Solo & Small Firm Conference! Register on or before June 13 to redeem the discount of $300 per attorney and $275 per guest. After June 13, registration will be $350 for members and $300 for guests. This year’s meeting, July 10-12 at the OKANA Resort, will give OBA members a chance to gather and learn in a relaxed and informal setting.
Early-bird rates are available through June 13:
- Early attorney-only registration: $300
- Early guest registration: $275 per guest
June 14 and after, rates are as follows:
- Attorney-only registration: $350
- Guest registration: $300 per guest
Founded in 1988, the Sovereignty Symposium is hosted by OCU and the OCU School of Law. The program provides a scholarly setting for the consideration of legal and policy issues facing tribal communities, as well as a platform for the celebration of tribal sovereignty in all its forms – legal, artistic, cultural and economic.
Register now for the Sovereignty Symposium 2025, held June 12-13 at the OKANA Resort in Oklahoma City.
Featured CLE
By OBA Management Assistance Program Director Jim Calloway
Dragon NaturallySpeaking allowed me to co-author three books for the American Bar Association. Given my typing speed, I would not have been able to write those books without speech recognition. But I’ve long since left that tool. After Microsoft embedded dictate in Word and Outlook, which did speech recognition almost as accurately as Dragon at no extra charge, I saw no need to pay for Dragon. I enjoyed telling many lawyers at that time that they could click on that Microphone icon in Word for free speech recognition and transcription services.
Lawyers have long recognized that most of us speak far faster than we can type. Before lawyers had computers on their desks, many law firms had a significant infrastructure around transcribing lawyers’ dictation. There was a transcription typing pool of stenographers that used products like Wang for their work. Portable microcassette recorders from Olympus, Sony and Dictaphone freed lawyers from dictating only at their desks, and soon, microcassette tapes were ubiquitous in law firms.
Today, speech recognition tools have replaced the transcription typing stenographer pools. But we still need to appreciate that we can talk faster than we can type and, if one speaks slowly and clearly using today’s products, proofreading and editing should be quick and painless. Used efficiently, speech recognition tools should allow the lawyer to accomplish more each day, while less time spent should also save clients money. And the next time you have a sound recording you would like a transcript of, try the built-in transcription in Word.
"Take Your Foot Off the Pedal: Dictation and Transcription Options for Lawyers" covers both dictation and transcription options for law firms and was written by Catherine Reach, director of the North Carolina Bar Association Center for Practice Management.
The Oklahoma Bar Journal is a publication of the Oklahoma Bar Association. All rights reserved. Copyright© 2025 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.