93-1.

• Case Date: March 19, 1993
• Court: Alaska

Alaska Ethics Opinion 1993. 93-1. Ethics Opinion No. 93-1 Preparation of a Client's Legal Pleadings in a Civil Action Without Filing an Entry of Appearance.The Ethics Committee has been asked whether the preparation of legal pleadings in civil litigation for pro se litigants constitutes the unethical practice of law. In the Committee's opinion, a lawyer may ethically limit the scope of his representation of a client, but the lawyer should notify the client clearly of the limitation of representation and the potential risks the client is taking by not having full representation. When an attorney limits the scope of his representation, an attorney-client relationship is still created between the attorney and the client, with all the attendant duties and responsibilities called out in the Professional Canons. The attorney requesting the ethics opinion states that he is helping many pro se litigants prepare their own child support modification motions. (endnote 1) Many of these litigants, he states, are unable to obtain legal counsel due to their poor financial condition. Assistance with their self-help efforts presents one of their few options for access to the courts. EC 2-33 stresses the legal profession's commitment to making high quality legal services available to all. Attorneys are encouraged to cooperate with qualified legal assistance organizations to provide pro bono legal services on behalf of the poor. Canon 6 of the Code of Professional Responsibility further provides that a lawyer should represent a client competently and zealously. When an attorney undertakes the representation of any client, that client should receive a high quality of legal service. The Committee is essentially asked to address the interplay between these ethical and professional considerations when a lawyer provides legal services to a pro se litigant without entering an appearance in the litigation in question. The Committee concludes that such assistance is not unethical when conducted under the guidelines set forth below. According to the facts before the Committee, the attorney assists in the preparation of pleadings only after fully describing this limited scope of his assistance to the client. With this understanding, the client then proceeds without legal representation into the courtroom for the hearing. The client may then be...