Rule 1.18 – Non-Lawyer Representation

May 14, 2021 | Family Law, New Hampshire

A. No person who is not a lawyer will be permitted to appear, plead, prosecute or defend an action for any party, other than the person’s own case, unless of good character and until there is on file with the court:

(1) A power of attorney signed by the party for whom the person seeks to appear, witnessed and acknowledged before a Justice of the Peace or Notary Public, authorizing this person to appear in the particular action; and
(2) An affidavit in which the person discloses:

(a) all misdemeanor and felony convictions (other than those in which a record of the conviction has been annulled by statute) ,
(b) all instances in which the person has been found by any court to have violated a court order or any provision of the rules of professional conduct applicable to non-lawyer representatives, and
(c) all prior proceedings in which the person has been permitted to appear, plead, prosecute or defend any action for any party, other than himself, in any court,
(d) all prior proceedings in which the person has not been permitted to appear, plead, prosecute or defend any action for any party, other than himself or herself in any court, and
(e) all prior proceedings in which the person’s permission to appear, plead, prosecute or defend any action for any party, other than himself or herself, in any court, has been revoked.
B. Any person who is not a lawyer who is permitted to represent any other person before any court of this State must comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct as set forth in Professional Conduct Rule 8.5, and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Committee on Professional Conduct.

N.H. R. Cir. Ct. Fam. Div. 1.18