In Oklahoma, you start a lawsuit by filing a petition. The petition sets forth your legal and factual claims, and a description of what you want the court to decide. The petition is usually accompanied by a summons, which directs the other party to respond to your claims by a certain date (usually 20 days from the date the other party receives the summons).

In family law cases, the petition is also often accompanied by an application for temporary relief. This is a request for the court to enter orders telling the parties how they will conduct themselves while the case is pending (for example, who lives where, who has possession of what car or other personal property, who pays what debt, who pays living expenses, child custody and support, among other issues). If the parties cannot reach agreement on their own, a court must make interim orders to govern the parties while the case is pending.

In Tulsa County, family law cases involving minor children require parents to attend a parenting plan conference. At the parenting plan conference, the parents will sign a temporary order agreement on undisputed matters concerning children, property and finances. They will be referred for either mediation or a temporary order hearing on those matters still in dispute at the parenting plan conference.

The court will enter a scheduling order. This order sets deadlines for filing interrogatories (written questions to be answered in writing), requesting documents from the other side, hiring experts, taking depositions (out-of-court testimony transcribed by a court reporter), filing motions, and the requirements for a pretrial conference. If there are any disputes between the parties during this "discovery" phase of the litigation process, these are resolved by filing pretrial motions and getting decisions from the court in pretrial hearings.

The discovery phase of litigation must be tailored to each person's case. The attorney must apply the law to the facts of each case to analyze the strengths and weakness of each party's claims. Supporting testimony and exhibits must be properly assessed for relevance, and the capacity to be admitted into evidence.

Lawyers for each side will prepare a pretrial conference order for the judge to sign. The judge will resolve any disputes as to the format of the pretrial conference order. The judge may also order the parties to attempt mediation before they get a trial date.

Finally, you proceed to a trial before the judge to hear and decide the outcome of the dispute. The court may request written findings of fact and conclusions of law. In the litigation process, you do not control the result, the process, the timing, or the costs. The lawyers and judges control all of these things. However, if other forms of dispute resolution have failed or been rejected by one or both parties, it represents the ultimate means to resolve the dispute.

As you can tell, the lawyer's experience, knowledge of law and procedure, and advocacy skills will come into play throughout the litigation process.