Roster Update

Change of counsel requests

October 1, 2020

We are excited to share with you a number of improvements to the Change of Counsel request process. As you know, clients sometimes experience delays when requesting a change of counsel, which has had negative impacts on them and you, as well as creating delays in the courts. We will be implementing several changes on October 2, which will streamline and expedite the change of counsel process.

When we request a status update from you related to a Change of Counsel request, we will be asking that you provide the information within nine calendar days. (We recognize that more time may occasionally be necessary; if you reach out to us to advise us of the circumstances, we can extend this deadline on a case-by-case basis.)

When necessary, we ask that you remove yourself from the record as quickly as possible in order for this information to appear in JOIN, or to final bill at your earliest convenience. This will allow us to make use of improvements to our internal processes to expedite the Change of Counsel process.

We are adding a field to the Authorization Request Form in Lawyer Portal where you can indicate whether a client is in custody or not. This will allow us to better prioritize requests.

You will now be able to submit a Change of Counsel request on behalf of a client (via the Authorization Request form in Lawyer Portal). Fields will be added to the form so that you can indicate their choice of counsel and that they have provided their consent for you to submit the request on their behalf. Previously, we had to hear directly from the client in all cases, which often led to delays.

The training materials on Counsel Connection have been updated to reflect the changes to the form. There is also a video webinar available with instructions on completing the new change of counsel online form.

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