Oklahoma § 12-3302 - Definitions

§ 12-3302. Definitions

DEFINITIONS.

As used in this act:

1. “Collaborative law communication” means a statement, whether

oral or in a record, or verbal or nonverbal, that:

a.

is made to conduct, participate in, continue, or

reconvene a collaborative law process, and

b.

occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law

participation agreement and before the collaborative

law process is concluded;

2. “Collaborative law participation agreement” means an

agreement by persons to participate in a collaborative law process;

3. “Collaborative law process” means a procedure intended to

resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal in

which persons:

a.

sign a collaborative law participation agreement, and

b.

are represented by collaborative lawyers;

4. “Collaborative lawyer” means a lawyer who represents a party

in a collaborative law process;

5. “Collaborative matter” means a dispute, transaction, claim,

problem, or issue for resolution, including a dispute, claim, or

issue in a proceeding, which is described in a collaborative law

participation agreement;

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure

6.

“Law firm” means:

a.

lawyers who practice law together in a partnership,

professional corporation, sole proprietorship, limited

liability company, or association, and

b.

lawyers employed in a legal services organization, or

the legal department of a corporation or other

organization, or the legal department of a government

or governmental subdivision, agency, or

instrumentality;

7. “Nonparty participant” means a person, other than a party

and the party’s collaborative lawyer, that participates in a

collaborative law process;

8. “Party” means a person that signs a collaborative law

participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a

collaborative matter;

9. “Person” means an individual, corporation, business trust,

estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association,

joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or

commercial entity;

10. “Proceeding” means:

a.

a judicial, administrative, arbitral, or other

adjudicative process before a tribunal, including

related prehearing and post-hearing motions,

conferences, and discovery, or

b.

a legislative hearing or similar process;

11. “Prospective party” means a person that discusses with a

prospective collaborative lawyer the possibility of signing a

collaborative law participation agreement;

12. “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible

medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is

retrievable in perceivable form;

13. “Related to a collaborative matter” means involving the

same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact,

dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter;

14. “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt

a record:

a.

to execute or adopt a tangible symbol, or

b.

to attach to or logically associate with the record an

electronic symbol, sound, or process; and

15. “Tribunal” means:

a.

a court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other

body acting in an adjudicative capacity which, after

presentation of evidence or legal argument, has

jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party’s

interests in a matter, or

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 12. Civil Procedure

b.

a legislative body conducting a hearing or similar

process.

Added by Laws 2025, c. 226, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.