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Rule 79.1 – Appearance and Withdrawal of Attorneys

May 14, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Vermont

(a)Appearance: In General. Upon the filing of an action or appeal the name of the attorney of the plaintiff or appellant shall be entered on the docket. If any party changes an attorney pending the suit, the name of the new attorney shall be substituted on the docket for that of the former attorney. Until notice of the change of an attorney, all notice given to or by the attorney first appointed shall be considered in all respects as notice to or from the client, except in cases in which by law the notice is required to be given to the party personally. Nothing in these rules shall be construed to prevent any party in a suit from appearing for himself or herself, in which case the party so appearing shall be subject to the same rules that are or may be provided for attorneys in like cases, so far as the same are applicable.
(b)Same: Form; Service. An attorney’s signature to a pleading shall constitute an appearance. Otherwise an attorney who wishes to participate in any action must appear in open court, or file notice in writing with the clerk, which shall be served pursuant to Rule 5. Appearances entered in open court shall be confirmed in writing and served within 7 days. An appearance, whether by pleading or formal written appearance, shall be signed by an attorney in the attorney’s individual name and shall state the attorney’s office address.
(c)Same: Multiple Parties. In entering appearance for defendants, attorneys shall specify, and the clerk shall enter upon the docket, for whom they appear, if there is more than one defendant. An appearance for the plaintiffs or the defendants, as the case may be, where there are several, shall be deemed to be an appearance for all, unless stated to be for one or more only, and so entered upon the docket by the clerk.
(d)Parties Appearing Pro Se. When a party not an attorney of the court prosecutes or defends in the party’s own proper person, the party shall comply with subdivision (b) of this rule.
(e)Attorneys Not Admitted to Practice in Vermont. Any member in good standing of the bar of any other state or of the District of Columbia who has filed a pro hac vice licensing statement form with the Court Administrator and who has paid the required fee, in accordance with Administrative Order No. 41, § 16, may, in the discretion of the court on motion by a member of the bar of this state who is actively associated with that attorney in a particular action, be admitted to practice in that action. The motion shall designate which attorney will serve as lead counsel. The court may at any time for good cause revoke such admission. An attorney so admitted to practice in a particular action shall at all times be associated in such action with a member of the bar of this state, upon whom all process, notices and other papers shall be served and who shall sign all papers filed with the court and whose attendance may be required by the court.
(f)Withdrawal: In General. When an attorney has entered an appearance the attorney shall remain as counsel until the attorney has been granted leave to withdraw by the court. Such leave shall be granted as a matter of course after a judgment becomes final. Leave to withdraw after a case has been set for trial will be granted only for good cause shown and on such terms as the court may order. No motion to withdraw shall be considered by the court until the party has been given notice of the motion and the date and time of hearing thereon by the clerk. The only exceptions to this shall be (1) when the attorney includes in the motion an affidavit that after diligent search the attorney cannot determine the present address of the party, and (2) when other counsel has entered an appearance for the party.
(g)Same: Notification of Party. When an attorney has been granted leave to withdraw the attorney’s appearance, the clerk shall notify the party forthwith, electronically if the party is a registered filer under the 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, otherwise by mail, of such withdrawal, and inform said party that unless the party appears pro se or by attorney within thirty days after receipt of such notification, the action will be dismissed or defaulted, as the case may be.
(h)Limited Appearance.

(1) An attorney acting pursuant to an agreement with a client for limited representation that complies with the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct may enter an appearance limited to one or more of the following purposes on behalf of a client who is pro se and who has entered, or will enter, a general appearance:

(A) Filing a complaint or other pleading.
(B) Filing or arguing a specific motion or motions.
(C) Conducting one or more specific discovery procedures.
(D) Participating in a pretrial conference or an alternative dispute resolution proceeding.
(E) Acting as counsel for a particular hearing or trial.
(F) Taking and perfecting an appeal.
(G) With leave of court, for a specific issue or a specific portion of a trial or hearing.
(2) An attorney who wishes to enter a limited appearance shall do so by filing with the clerk and serving pursuant to Rule 5 a written notice of limited appearance as soon as practicable prior to commencement of the appearance. The purpose and scope of the appearance shall be specifically described in the notice, which shall represent that the client is pro se and has entered, or will forthwith enter, a general appearance. The attorney’s name and a brief statement of the purpose of the limited appearance shall be entered upon the docket. The notice and all actions taken pursuant to it shall be subject to the obligations of Rule 11.
(3) An attorney who has entered a limited appearance shall be granted leave to withdraw as a matter of course when the purpose for which the appearance was entered has been accomplished. An attorney who seeks to withdraw before that purpose has been accomplished may do so only on motion and notice, for good cause and on terms, as provided in Rule 79.1(f).
(4) Every paper required by Rule 5 to be served upon a party’s attorney that is to be served after entry of a limited appearance shall be served upon the party and upon the attorney entering that appearance unless the attorney has been granted leave to withdraw pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subdivision.
(i)Attorney License Number; eCabinet Registration Number. Any document that constitutes a first appearance of an attorney shall contain, in addition to the name of the appearing attorney, the eCabinet registration number assigned to that attorney on registering an e-mail address pursuant to Rule 3 of the 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing.

Vt. R. Civ. P. 79.1

Amended Dec. 12, 1985, eff. April 1, 1986; Nov. 25, 1986, eff. March 1, 1987; Feb. 6, 2006, eff. April 14, 2006; March 15, 2006, eff. June 30, 2006; May 7, 2009, eff. July 6, 2009; Aug. 17, 2010, eff. Oct. 1, 2010; Aug. 30, 2011, eff. Oct. 31, 2011; Feb. 6, 2013, eff. April 8, 2013; amended Sept. 20, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; amended Sept. 5, 2018, effective Nov. 5, 2018; amended Dec. 10, 2019, eff. March 2, 2020.

Reporter’s Notes-2020 Amendment

Rule 79.1(g) and (i) is amended to clarify that its cross references are to the 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic filing.

Reporters Notes-2018 Amendment

Rule 79.1(e) is amended to comport with general revisions of Administrative Order No. 41, governing Licensing of Attorneys, effective May 15, 2017. In the revision and restyling of A.O. 41, former § 13, Admission Pro Hac Vice, is now designated as § 16 of A.O. 41.

Reporter’s Notes-2018 Amendment

Rule 79.1(b) is amended to extend its 5-day time period to 7 days consistent with the simultaneous “day is a day” amendments to V.R.C.P. 6.

Reporter’s Notes-2009 Amendment

Rule 79.1(h), permitting a lawyer acting pursuant to a limited representation agreement with a pro se client to enter a limited appearance in the Superior Court (“unbundling”), is now made permanent. The rule was originally adopted by order of February 6, 2006, effective April 14, 2006, for a period of two years, extended until April 10, 2009, by order of March 13, 2008. At the direction of the Supreme Court, the Advisory Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure inquired about use of the rule and, with the assistance of the Vermont Bar Association, conducted a survey of practice under it. While the survey reflected relatively little use of limited appearance, a significant number of lawyers who used the procedure found it helpful, and there have been no reports of problems in its use. The rule has proven effective in achieving its original purposes of providing assistance of lawyers to courts and litigants at critical stages in trials or other proceedings and encouraging lawyers to take on pro bono representation. See Reporter’s Notes to 2006 amendment adopting the rule. It may be anticipated that greater familiarity with the rule and growing interest at the bar in providing pro bono representation will lead to increased use of the unbundling procedure.