MARCH 2025 | 15 THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 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. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Edward G. Lindsey serves as the director of the Oklahoma Arbitration Center and is a practicing attorney in Tulsa. He earned his J.D. from the TU College of Law in 1992, and in 2023, he received an LL.M. in alternative dispute resolution from the University of Aberdeen School of Law and was named a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in 2024. Mr. Lindsey is admitted to practice in all Oklahoma state and federal courts, the Muscogee Creek Nation, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. His legal focus includes alternative dispute resolution, family law and civil litigation. ENDNOTES 1. See 43 O.S. §110(B)2. 2. Id. 3. Id. 4. Carolyn Moran Zack, Family Law Arbitration: Practice, Procedure, and Forms, ABA Family Law Section, 2020 (updated as of April 3, 2023). 5. Id. 6. Id. 7. Id. 8. Id. 9. Carolyn Moran Zack, Family Law Arbitration: Practice, Procedure, and Forms. 10. Id. 11. Id. 12. Id. 13. See 43 O.S. §109(H). 14. Id. 15. See 12 O.S. §612. 16. A referee must be appointed by the court and must possess qualifications like those of a judge. Specifically, the referee should be a lawyer and be specially qualified for their duties (Juvenile v. Jennings, 541 P.2d 229 (1975)). This is consistent with the requirement that referees in juvenile cases must be lawyers and specially qualified for their duties (Juvenile v. Jennings, 541 P.2d 229 (1975)). Other states act similarly. The referee must be law-trained and licensed to practice law. This requirement is essential for referees who are given duties such as conducting hearings, calling witnesses, ruling on the admissibility of evidence and making findings of fact and recommendations (Schmidt v. Thompson, 347 N.W.2d 315 (1984)). This ensures that referees have the necessary legal expertise to perform their duties effectively. 17. See 12 O.S. §622. 18. See American Bar Association, GP Solo eReport, “Confidentiality in US Arbitration,” March 23, 2023. Confidentiality in U.S. Arbitration. 19. See 43 OS §112 et seq. 20. Id. 21. Id. See also Jones v. White 430 P3d. 544 (Civ. App. 2018). The parties cannot consent to subject matter jurisdiction to a forum noncompliant to the Oklahoma Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (OUCCJEA) found at 43 O.S. 551-201(a). 22. See 43 O.S. §121. See also Adams v. Adams 11 P.3d 220 (Civ. App 2000). 23. Id. 24. See Acker v. Acker, 1979 OK 67, 594 P.2d 1216, Seelig v. Seelig, 1969 OK 160, 460 P.2d 433. In Dickason v. Dickason, 1980 OK 24, 607 P.2d 674, the court held that a settlement agreement is not enforceable, absent its approval by the court. It shall not be approved unless it is fair, just and reasonable. 25. Id. 26. See 43 OS §112. See also Jones v. White supra. 27. Uniform Law Commission, The Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act (2016). 28. Id. See also, “Resolution in Support of Divorce and Family Law Arbitration,” adopted March 14, 2024. 29. Uniform Law Commission, The Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act. 30. Id. 31. Id. 32. Id. 33. Id. 34. Id. 35. Id. 36. Id. 37. Id. 38. Id. 39. Linda Diane Elrod, “Review of Law in the 50 States in 2023: ICWA Survives and State Courts Tackle Thorny Jurisdictional Issues,” Family Law Quarterly (Aug. 12, 2024), ABA Family Law Section. 40. Carolyn Moran Zack, Chart F from Family Law Arbitration: Practice, Procedure, and Forms, ABA Family Law Section, 2020 (updated as of April 3, 2023). 41. Id. 42. Maria R. Volpe and Charles Bahn, “Resistance to Mediation: Understanding and Handling It,” Sociological Practice: Vol. 10: Issue 1, Article 5, 1992. Available at https://bit.ly/4jOYjTo. 43. Id. 44. Nicole Nguyen, “Three Reasons Mediations Fail and Three Ways to Move Forward,” Advocate. August 2020. 45. Id. 46. Id. 47. Id. 48. Id. 49. Id.
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