Rule Text
All licensed Louisiana attorneys in good standing may enroll as counsel of record: (1) by oral notice made in open court when all parties or their counsel are present; or (2) by filing a written Notice of Enrollment or a written Notice of Limited Appearance in accordance with La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 853 with the clerk of court, with copies to all other enrolled counsel or self- represented parties and to the court.
A Notice of Limited Appearance shall specifically state the limitation of legal services by subject matter, proceeding, date, or time period in accordance with Rule 1.2(c) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. See forms in Appendix 9.12A (family law) and Appendix 9.12B (non- family law).
The applicable Appendix Form 9.12 form shall be filed if an attorney is making a limited appearance, with or prior to the initial pleading or prior to the initial hearing. The Notice shall bear the signatures of both the appearing attorney and the client, unless the client is unavailable to sign at filing. If the Notice does not bear the client’s signature, a certificate attesting to the scope of limited enrollment, signed by the client, shall be filed into the record within ten (10) days of the filing of the initial Notice of Limited Appearance.
Any pleading filed by an attorney making a limited appearance shall state in bold type on the signature page of that pleading: “Attorney for limited purpose of [matter or proceeding].”
Amendment history: Adopted April 1, 2002, effective April 1, 2002; amended October 29, 2003, effective January 4, 2004; amended November 3, 2004, effective January 1, 2005; amended November 20, 2009, effective January 1, 2010; amended November 21, 2011, effective January 1, 2012; amended November 27, 2012, effective January 1, 2013; amended May 15, 2013, effective June 1, 2013.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you hire a lawyer for your case in a Louisiana district court, that lawyer has to officially let the court know they are representing you. This is called enrolling as counsel of record. There are two ways to do this: the lawyer can say so out loud in court when everyone involved is present, or the lawyer can file a written notice with the court clerk and send copies to everyone else involved in the case.
Sometimes a lawyer only agrees to help with part of a case, not the whole thing. This is called a limited appearance. If that happens, the lawyer must file a specific form that clearly spells out exactly what they are helping with, whether that's a certain issue, a certain hearing, or a certain time period. Both the lawyer and the client normally need to sign this form. If the client can't sign right away, the client has 10 days to sign a separate statement confirming what the lawyer will and won't be doing.
Any paperwork the lawyer files while doing this limited work must clearly say, in bold print, that the lawyer is only helping for that specific purpose. This protects everyone by making sure the court, the other side, and the client all understand exactly what the lawyer is responsible for and what they are not.
Committee Notes
Attorneys enrolling pro hac vice shall comply with Rule XVII, Section 13 of the Rules of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Filing the initial petition or first responsive pleading constitutes enrollment, and no further notice of enrollment is needed unless the attorney is making a limited appearance as authorized by Rule 1.2(c) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Rule 1.2(c) of the Rules of Professional Conduct allows an attorney to limit the scope of the representation if the limitation is reasonable and the client gives informed consent. See also Rule 1.0(e) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
The use of standard forms for limited appearances makes the notices easily recognizable to judge, court staff, opposing parties and the client. The form notices require the attorney to identify the scope of a limited representation with specificity.
