QUESTION
Can a lawyer stop representing a defendant without notice to the other party?
Asked on May 30th, 2018 on Civil Litigation - Illinois
More details to this question:
I am representing myself in small claims court. I have won a judgment for $10,000 against my general contractor. I was in the middle of Discovery of Assets proceedings when the defendant and his lawyer came to court with paperwork showing he was filing for bankruptcy and I was a named creditor. Since then the defendant has not turned in the required paperwork for the bankruptcy and it is supposed to get dismissed. When another creditor tried to contact the defendant’s lawyer who was representing him in court, she said she is no longer representing the defendant. However, we have never been notified of this nor has small claims court, as far as I know. Once the bankruptcy is dismissed I plan on getting the defendant back in court to continue the Discovery of Assets. Can I serve the defendant ‘s lawyer? What if she is not representing him any longer? Does she have any obligation to let him know that he has a court date with me? Do I have to then serve the defendant?
1 ANSWER
It is possible that the rules are different in Illinois, but where I practice a lawyer's obligation generally ends upon judgment. with no need to notify the other side. Thus, any papers which need to be served in any subsequent proceedings should be served on the client Of course, the attorney can continue to represent the client after judgment if they both agree, but here you are on notice that the lawyer is not continuing to represent the former client, and the client is the one who has to receive all notices.
Answered on May 30th, 2018 at 2:07 PM