As used in this act:
§ 3302.Definitions
Chapter 41A: Structured Settlement Protection Act of 2001 · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceDefines the fifteen terms the Uniform Collaborative Law Act uses, including "collaborative law process," "collaborative lawyer," "collaborative matter," "nonparty participant," and "tribunal," setting the vocabulary for how the process works and who's disqualified from later litigation.
Full Text of § 3302
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;
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
b. a legislative body conducting a hearing or similar process.
Amendment History
Added by Laws 2025, c. 226,s. 2, eff. 1/1/2026.
Plain-English Summary
Section 3302 builds the vocabulary for the whole act. A "collaborative law process" is a way to resolve a dispute without going before a tribunal: the parties sign a "collaborative law participation agreement" and each is represented by a "collaborative lawyer." The dispute itself -- a divorce, custody fight, or other civil matter described in the agreement -- is the "collaborative matter."
Several definitions set up the disqualification rules the later sections depend on. A "law firm" includes not just private partnerships but lawyers in a legal-services organization or a corporate or government legal department, which matters because an entire firm, not just one lawyer, can be disqualified from litigating a collaborative matter. A "nonparty participant" -- someone other than a party or their lawyer who takes part in the process, such as a financial expert or therapist -- gets some of the same confidentiality protections as the parties themselves.
"Tribunal" is defined broadly, covering not just courts but arbitrators, administrative agencies, and even legislative bodies conducting a hearing. "Sign" covers both a physical signature and an electronic one made with intent to authenticate a record, which matters because the act requires the participation agreement to be signed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a "collaborative law process" under Oklahoma law?
A procedure intended to resolve a dispute without a tribunal's intervention, in which the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and each is represented by a collaborative lawyer.
Who counts as a "nonparty participant"?
Anyone other than a party or that party's collaborative lawyer who takes part in the collaborative law process -- for example, a financial adviser or therapist brought in to help resolve the matter.
Does "law firm" include a government legal department?
Yes. The definition covers lawyers who practice together in a partnership or similar arrangement, and also lawyers employed in a legal-services organization or in the legal department of a corporation, government, or governmental subdivision.
What counts as a "tribunal" for this act?
A court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other body with jurisdiction to decide a matter after hearing evidence or argument, and it also includes a legislative body conducting a hearing.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: collaborative law process definition oklahomawho is a collaborative lawyer oklahoma12 O.S. § 3302nonparty participant collaborative law