US · rules

E.D.N.Y. Local Civil Rule 1.4

Attorney Appearances; Withdrawal or Displacement of Attorney of Record; Limited-Scope Representation

activein force · 2026-01-02 – presentact-effective-date

(a) Attorney appearances. Except as otherwise set forth in this rule, each attorney

appearing on behalf of a party must file a notice of appearance promptly on or

before the attorney’s first appearance in court or filing in the case. The notice of

appearance must provide the attorney’s name, any firm or organizational

affiliation, business address, telephone number, email address, and the name of

the party or parties represented.

An attorney who files a case-initiating document, such as a complaint, petition, or

notice of removal, need not file a separate notice of appearance; such an attorney

shall be deemed to have entered a notice of appearance on behalf of the party or

parties on whose behalf the filing is made.

(b) Attorney withdrawals. Except where an attorney has filed a notice of limited-scope

appearance as set forth in subsection (c), an attorney who has appeared for a party

may be relieved or displaced only by order of the court. Such an order may be

issued following the filing of a motion to withdraw, and only upon a showing by

affidavit or otherwise of satisfactory reasons for withdrawal or displacement and

the posture of the case, and whether or not the attorney is asserting a retaining or

charging lien. While a motion to withdraw is required whenever an attorney seeks

to be relieved, an affidavit is unnecessary if (1) another attorney from the same

firm, agency, or organization has already entered a notice of appearance on behalf

of the client and will remain in the case or (2) upon substitution of counsel by

stipulation, if the stipulation is also signed by the client and, at the time of

substitution, the new attorney does not intend to seek modification of any existing

deadlines or dates for court appearances in the case.

All motions to withdraw must be served upon the client and (unless excused by

the court) upon all other parties. Proof of such service upon the client shall be filed

on the docket in each case where withdrawal is sought.

may provide limited-scope representation to a party in a civil case.

(1) Where a party and an attorney have agreed to limited-scope representation,

the attorney must file a notice that describes the scope of the representation

for any matter that may require the attorney to file papers with the court;

appear before a judge, arbitrator, or mediator; or communicate with opposing

counsel. Notice is not required if the attorney is providing short-term, limited

legal services under a program sponsored by a court, government agency, bar

association, or not-for-profit legal services organization unless the attorney

will file papers with the court; appear before a judge, arbitrator, or mediator;

or provide continuing representation in the matter. A party to whom limited-scope representation is being provided or has been provided is considered

unrepresented regarding matters not designated in the notice of limited-scope representation and regarding all matters unless attorneys for all other

parties have been provided with the notice of the limited-scope

representation.

(2) During any period that a party receives limited-scope representation from an

attorney who has filed a notice of appearance, papers must be served on both

the party and the attorney.

(3) A limited-scope representation terminates without the need for leave of court

once the attorney files a notice stating that the tasks for which the appearance

was entered have been completed. The notice must include a certificate of

service on the client. If any attorney who has filed a notice of appearance

seeks to withdraw before completion of the limited-scope representation, the

attorney must follow the procedure set forth in subsection (b).

For relevant historical context for this local rule, consult the Appendix of Committee Notes.

History

Attorney of Record; Limited-Scope Representation PRE-2024 COMMITTEE NOTE The Committee recommends that Local Civil Rule 1.4 be amended to require that the affidavit in support of a motion to withdraw state whether or not a retaining or charging lien is being asserted, and to clarify that all applications to withdraw must be served upon the client and (unless excused by the Court) upon all other parties. This is not meant to preclude the Court from permitting the reasons for withdrawal to be stated in camera and under seal in an appropriate case. It is also not meant to preclude substitution of counsel by a stipulation which has been signed by counsel, the counsel’s client, and all other parties, and which has been so ordered by the Court. 2024 COMMITTEE NOTE The existing local rule governs the withdrawal or displacement of an attorney of record but does not identify the procedure by which one becomes an attorney of record. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure likewise do not include a procedure for becoming an attorney of record. Accordingly, the rule is amended to require attorneys appearing in a matter to file a notice of appearance and lists the information that the notice of appearance must contain. The amendment also eliminates the affidavit that was otherwise required by the local rule when other counsel who had already appeared in the case continues to represent the client or when new counsel is substituted by stipulation. The Committee believes that the affidavit serves no useful purpose in these circumstances. 2025 COMMITTEE NOTE Both the Eastern and Southern District have come to allow an attorney to appear on behalf of an otherwise unrepresented party for limited purposes only — for example, for purposes of mediation, motion practice, or some aspect of discovery. Among other things, allowing for such limited-scope appearances facilitates the recruitment of counsel to take on pro bono matters and promotes access to justice. The rule is amended to codify and regulate this practice of limited-scope appearances. In addition, the rule is amended to provide that where an attorney moves to withdraw upon a stipulation substituting a new attorney, an affidavit is required in support of the motion if the new attorney intends to seek modification of any existing deadlines in the case. That requirement is intended to assist the court in evaluating whether the proposed withdrawal would result in delay.

Provenance

Source: www.nyed.uscourts.gov
Retrieved: 2026-09-18
Edition: fed-district-2026-09-18
Content hash: 30020e801aff3570bd07822095a92ed6184a638a40560bf4286bfac9e7bb40c7

View the official source →

The link goes to the issuing authority’s own document — the one we read to produce this record. Where a source publishes whole titles rather than sections, your browser may need a moment to jump to the provision.

Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.

Coverage · API docs