Substitution Of Attorney Forms

I am not a lawyer. This is my opinion and a summary of what I have learned and observed. If you need legal advice, contact a lawyer.

When you purchase a Judgment, you can either hire a lawyer to represent you in court or you can (much more likely) represent yourself Pro Se (also known as Pro Per, meaning without a lawyer representing you.)

The reason you can represent yourself in court is the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In addition to guaranteeing a trial by jury, it provides for self-representation in any court of law. The decision has been upheld in every state. You can represent yourself in all legal proceedings. However, unless you are a licensed attorney, you cannot represent another person.

When a judgment enforcer looks at judgment cases, they will find and purchase judgments where the Original Judgment Creditor (OJC) had to hire a lawyer to file the lawsuit and win the Judgment.

You may be fortunate enough to discover your OJC has already paid his lawyer in full, with no remaining balance owed to the lawyer. Even then, in some states, you may need to have your OJC request that their lawyer remove themselves as the lawyer of record in the court the judgment was awarded at.

The judgment enforcer's Assignment of Judgment form usually does not list the lawyer - only the OJC signs that under a notary's supervision. The purchase agreement you prepare often names and is signed by both the OJC and the lawyer.

Even when lawyers remove themselves, they will still be owed money for their fees, and may file a claim in court for such fees. The OJC is obligated to pay those fees, and you probably should make sure your purchase agreement addresses the payment of all lawyer fees.

Some lawyers will file suit and win a Judgment with the OJC retaining the lawyer on a contingency basis. When this is done there may be fees to be paid out of any recovery made on the judgment. In this situation the OJC must request the lawyer to remove himself or herself as the lawyer of record.

In most states, when a lawyer removes himself or herself from representation on a judgment, they use a (usually) court-provided Substitution Of Attorney form. This form is used even when there is no new attorney. With no new attorney, the OJCs is representing himself or herself.

While there are forms available for you to send to the OJC, it may be wiser to request the OJC to ask their lawyer or former lawyer to remove themselves as attorney of record. If you are not a lawyer, note that if you prepare a substitution of attorney form for the lawyer, you always should be careful that your actions are not for "a client" as that could be interpreted as an Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL).

Once in a while you will run across a lawyer that wishes to charge more than the OJC is willing to pay. You also may find that the lawyer has no interest in preparing or signing a substitution of attorney form for the OJC.

If the lawyer will not cooperate, the OJC can go to the attorney's office to thank them for winning the case, and explain that this is a way to start repaying the attorney's fees. As soon as the money comes in, they will be paid. Most lawyers will be happy to hear this and sign a substitution of attorney form.