{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-236","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 56-236","heading":"Legal division or unit - Contracts for private legal","body":"counsel.\n\nA. The Commission for Human Services shall establish or provide\n\nfor a legal division or unit in the Department of Human Services.\n\nThe Director of the Department of Human Services shall employ\n\nattorneys as needed, which may be on full-time and part-time basis.\n\nSuch attorneys, in addition to advising the Commission, Director and\n\nDepartment personnel on legal matters, may appear for and represent\n\nthe Commission, Director and Department in legal actions and\n\nproceedings. Provided, that it shall continue to be the duty of the\n\nAttorney General to give his official opinion to the Commission,\n\nDirector or Department, and to prosecute and defend actions\n\ntherefor, if requested to do so. The Attorney General may levy and\n\ncollect costs, expenses of litigation and a reasonable attorney's\n\nfee for such legal services from the Commission. Provided, however\n\nthe charges which the Attorney General is authorized to levy and\n\ncollect shall only include those costs and charges which exceed the\n\ncosts associated with the salary and benefits of one attorney FTE\n\nposition per fiscal year.\n\nB. The Commission shall not contract for representation by\n\nprivate legal counsel unless approved by the Attorney General. Such\n\ncontract for private legal counsel shall be in the best interests of\n\nthe state.\n\nC. The Attorney General shall be notified by the Commission or\n\nits counsel of all lawsuits against the Commission, its officers or\n\nemployees that seek injunctive relief which would impose obligations\n\nrequiring the expenditure of funds in excess of unencumbered monies\n\nin the agency's appropriations or beyond the current fiscal year.\n\nThe Attorney General shall review any such cases and may represent\n\nthe interests of the state, if he considers it to be in the best\n\ninterest of the state to do so, in which case he shall be paid as\n\nprovided in subsection A of this section. Representation of\n\nmultiple defendants in such actions may, at the discretion of the\n\nAttorney General, be divided with counsel for the Commission as\n\nnecessary to avoid conflicts of interest.","path":["OK Code","Title 56"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os56.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"76792b9e00a34bd520abb10e97f9e1f30e1d0170d41f4b688f3fac5c85697037","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-235","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-237"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}