Vol. 5 No. 48 | Nov. 26, 2025
Courts
- 2025 OK 86: BROOKE v. REED
- 2025 OK 87: LAWSON v. LeFLORE CO. DETENTION CENTER PUBLIC TRUST SECURITY COMM.
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
OBA Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday
The Oklahoma Bar Center will close at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26, and remain closed through Friday, Nov. 28, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
"As we bring this year to a close, I want to pause and express heartfelt gratitude to every lawyer, volunteer, staff member, and member of the judiciary who has worked so diligently to advance and strengthen our profession. The successes of this past year, both large and small, are a direct reflection of your dedication, professionalism, and service.
The legal profession endures because people like you give it life and meaning every day. Whether through advocacy in courtrooms, guidance in boardrooms, quiet counsel to clients, or outreach in our communities, lawyers uphold the values that ensure our system of justice remains strong and accessible. You demonstrate that the practice of law is not only a profession but also a public trust."
"I have often told the story of my first trial and embarrassing voir dire examination. It was a $1,500 lien foreclosure case, and I was the plaintiff attorney who had never seen or conducted a voir dire. Judge Purcell turned to me and said:
'Mr. Priest, you may inquire.'
Me: 'About what, your honor?'
Judge Purcell: 'You may ask the jurors questions.'
Me: 'Oh, ok.' I then turned to the jury. 'How are you all doing?'
After stumbling through my off-the-cuff questions, the worthy defense lawyer did an admirable job questioning the array, after which the judge invited us to the bench."
"Let’s be honest. Being an attorney is tough. We have chosen to help others with some of the most important issues in their lives. Whether in their professional lives, with business contracts, consulting, finance or taxes; their personal lives, with relationships, divorce, paternity, guardianships, adoptions, protective orders or the eventual deaths of loved ones through estate planning and probate; or even their own personal freedom, when they are charged with a crime. The list goes on and on.
In most situations, the individuals we help are going through very atypical times and circumstances. They are hypervigilant and aware. In short, these circumstances create a perfect storm that harms our own mental health, not even accounting for whatever we may be going through in our personal lives at the time."
Beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 28, through 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1, you can save big on OBA CLE programs. This is a great opportunity for anyone who needs last-minute CLE for the year! Click the bundle of your choice below to register.
BLACK FRIDAY
Grab Bag Bundle
$100 | 5 General MCLE | Includes:
- 2025 Legislative Debrief
- Disaster-Proofing Your Practice – 2025 Solo & Small Firm Conference
- Special Considerations for Deployed Clients – 2023 OBA Annual Meeting
Technology Bundle
$125 | 4 General MCLE | Includes:
- AI + ATJ: Practical Applications, Quality Standards and Responsible Implementation – 2025 Oklahoma Access to Justice Summit
- Cybersecurity – 2025 Solo & Small Firm Conference
- LLMs for Legal Tasks: Best Practices – 2025 Solo & Small Firm Conference
- Artificial Intelligence and the Law: Promise or Peril? – 2023 OBA Annual Meeting
Criminal Law Bundle
$125 | 4 General MCLE | Includes:
- Preserving the Record for Appeal – 2025 Solo & Small Firm Conference
- Filing Your First (Or Next) Expungement – 2023 OBA Annual Meeting
- Oklahoma Sentencing Guidelines Update
CYBER MONDAY
Ethics Bundle #1
$75 | 2 Ethics MCLE | Includes:
- Panel on Professionalism and Civility – 2023 OBA Annual Meeting
- Trust Accounting and Credit Cards: Ethics, Compliance and Oklahoma’s New Surcharge Law
Ethics Bundle #2
$50 | 1.5 Ethics MCLE | Includes:
- Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Attorney-Client Relationships – 2025 Solo & Small Firm Conference
- Perspectives on Professionalism – 2025 Solo & Small Firm Conference
Discount on Single Ethics Program
$50 (normally $100) | 2 Ethics MCLE | Includes:
- Civility: The Foundation of Effective Lawyering
DUES ARE DUE | Member dues statements are available online in MyOKBar. Members can pay their dues by credit card online at MyOKBar or by mailing a check to the OBA Dues Lockbox, P.O. Box 960101, Oklahoma City, OK 73196. Dues are due Friday, Jan. 2, 2026.
MCLE DEADLINE APPROACHING | Dec. 31 is the deadline to earn any remaining MCLE credit for 2025 without having to pay a late fee. The deadline to report your 2025 credit is Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. Not sure how much credit you still need? To access your MCLE information, log in to MyOKBar and click "MyMCLE." Still need credit? Check out great CLE offerings at ok.webcredenza.com. If you have questions about your credit, email mcle@okbar.org.
Featured CLE
By OBA Management Assistance Program Director Julie Bays
As AI tools continue to evolve, so do the subscription options available to professionals who rely on them. Earlier this year, OpenAI rolled out a business-grade version of ChatGPT, now called ChatGPT Business. It replaces what was formerly known as the “Team” plan, offering stronger security controls, administrative oversight and clear data-handling assurances. For lawyers, these upgrades are more than conveniences; they tie directly into our duties under ORPC 1.6 to safeguard client information.
The business plan requires at least two users and includes access to advanced models, collaboration tools and the ability to create and share custom GPTs across a firm. Most importantly, conversations and uploaded content are not used to train OpenAI’s models. This alone makes the plan a noticeable step up from the individual version of ChatGPT Plus, which is designed for personal use and lacks the same business-level controls.
Another benefit for small and mid-sized firms is administrative management. The business plan allows a firm to maintain centralized billing, manage users and apply consistent settings across accounts. These features help ensure that everyone in an office is working with the same privacy standards and tool configurations. This is something that can make a meaningful difference when building secure internal systems.
As AI tools become part of everyday legal workflows, choosing the right subscription tier matters. Tools like ChatGPT can enhance efficiency, improve drafting accuracy and help lawyers better serve clients. But when client information is involved, the security terms of the subscription must be as strong as the technology itself.
If your firm is experimenting with AI or considering broader adoption, the business plan is the more appropriate option. It aligns more closely with your professional obligations, provides added administrative protection and supports the responsible use of AI in a law practice.
Before you subscribe to any AI product, begin your AI subscription evaluations with ORPC 1.6 in mind.
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.