JANUARY 2025 | 17 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL smart to arrange for a phone call or in-person meeting with opposing counsel before pretrial to see which matters might be resolved in advance. Exhibits, of course, need to be listed on the pretrial order and exchanged with opposing counsel in advance of pretrial with enough time for the parties to review them and state any objections to the pretrial order. Different judges handle objections in different ways. Some allow objections to be reserved for trial. Nonetheless, in such cases, be sure to note the objections. Prepare for any objections that opposing counsel is going to make at trial. To summarize, exchange everything before pretrial, list all objections on the pretrial order, and then talk through those objections at the pretrial conference if the judge allows it. You are now prepared for both pretrial and trial – and the client has had significant input throughout your preparations. Schedule a phone or in-person meeting with opposing counsel before pretrial or certainly before trial to discuss which exhibits can be agreed upon and stipulated. For example, if you have a bunch of bank statements or tax returns, why waste time at trial laying the foundation for those kinds of things? Go through and see what can be stipulated. Then, when you first go on the record at trial, you or opposing counsel can announce to the judge the mutual understanding of the stipulated exhibits. Judges like that because it shows the attorneys are prepared, it saves trial time, and for the client, it even saves money. Also, by talking with opposing counsel beforehand about their objections and the reasons for them, you can see if something can be worked out. Typically, evidence in a family law trial is going to be admitted because it is not a jury trial. In bench trials, most judges allow parties to make their case with evidence being allowed in the record, viewing this process as separating the “wheat from the chaff.” Most of the time, relevant evidence is going to come in. Keep that in mind as you are deciding where to fight your battles. At trial, the judge’s time is a limited resource. So is the client’s money. We have a duty to our clients to be efficient and effective, which can help preserve the client’s resources as well as our own. The next step in efficiently preparing for trial is to go back and improve on the chapters. Again, work with your client to pare down which exhibits are used while fine-tuning factual details in the chapters. Throughout the trial, you need to be presenting evidence that supports your requests or refutes the requests of the opposing party. Otherwise, you are wasting time. Sometimes, you will decide not to use a chapter you’ve created. That’s perfectly fine; it’s better to have created chapters that are scrapped than to scramble to add a chapter at the last minute. CONCLUSION Every successful lawyer wants the same end result or naked cat – a win for their client. Although different attorneys may “skin the cat” differently to get there, having a clear understanding of a client’s end goals, being organized throughout the process, being well-prepared in advance of trial and clearly and succinctly presenting your case to the court is the most efficient and least stressful way to achieve that win. As stated in the quote often attributed to Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” In the process of properly preparing your family law case for trial, you are successfully leading your client to their new beginning. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Allyson Dow practices family law and serves as a mediator. Ms. Dow served on the OBA Board of Governors from 2022 through 2024. M. Shane Henry practices in the areas of personal injury and family law. Mr. Henry has presented CLE courses on numerous topics related to Oklahoma family law. Ms. Dow and Mr. Henry are partners and trial lawyers at Henry + Dow + Masters + Aycock. They are also siblings. ENDNOTES 1. Line from the poem “Little Gidding,” T.S. Eliot. https://bit.ly/3CSBmO7 (last visited June 12, 2024). 2. 43 O.S. §§109 and 112. 3. 43 O.S. §§118-120. 4. 43 O.S. §121(A) (1-2). 5. 43 O.S. §121(B). 6. Thomas A. Mauet, Trial Techniques, Sixth Edition (2002). 7. Roger J. Dodd and Larry Pozner, CrossExamination: Science and Techniques (2018). 8. Kenneth Turan, “Man of Vision,” Directors Guild of America. https://bit.ly/4fbHbU6 (last visited Dec. 5, 2024). 9. “How Top Gun: Maverick Left 800 Hours on the Cutting Room Floor,” ScreenRant. https://bit.ly/3BlMfY5 (last visited June 12, 2024). 10. “TEDx Rules,” TED. https://bit.ly/3ZAPIeA (last visited June 12, 2024). 11. Roger J. Dodd and Larry Pozner, CrossExamination: Science and Techniques (2018). Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal 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.
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