Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Complaint to Bar Association?
Hello.
My finance has a civil law and he is in pro per. According the the law, he cannot serve the other party by mail or in person because the case involves him.
Therefore, I have been serving the other party attroney by mail and twice in person.
I also gave the other party's lawyer an ex parte notice by phone. The ex parte hearing was not granted because the lawyer said notice should have been giving by 10am.
Therefore, I attempted to give ex parte notice by phone on a differnt date but the receptionist kept saying that the lawyer was out of the office.
Therefore, I draft a letter with the details of the ex parte, drove to the lawyers office, and served his receptionist at 944am. The receptionist got the lawyer so I served him with the ex parte details.
The lawyer stated that our ex parte did not work and wanted to know about the letter. I informed him again verybally re the ex parte and he stated that he was going to report me to the bar association.
Does his accusation has any validity? By all means, I am not an attroney. I only serve documents personally and by mail because my finance does not.
This is a civil lawsuit case.
Please advise.
Thanks
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Complaint to Bar Association?
If all you did was give him notice of the ex parte hearing on your fiance's behalf then you have done nothing wrong. The Bar doesn't really care what non-lawyers do except when they practice law without a license. Relaying a litigant's ex parte notice to opposing counsel is not practicing law.
Re: Complaint to Bar Association?
Get a lawyer.
There are a lot of rules that lawyers need to know, and if you do not follow them, it will hurt -- or lose -- your case.
The bar on service by a party only applies to the summons and complaint. Give ex parte notice or notice of a motion can be done by a pro per. It can also be done by someone working for the pro per.
You just need to be careful that you are not attempting to represent your fiance, as that would be the unlicensed practice of law and illegal.
Unless and until you get an attorney, it sounds like the lawyer on the other side is going to take advantage (as he should) of your lack of knowledge.
Re: Complaint to Bar Association?
While I do not agree with Mr. Telanoff's comment that the other attorney should take advantage of you [there are moral, fair-play rules that should be obeyed], it is very likely that they will do so. You need to get a consultation from a lawyer who practices in the field of law that the civil suit involves to find out if the suit is worthwhile if you are a plaintiff, whether there might be insurance coverage if you are the defendant, your chance of winning, what general strategy it would be best to follow etc. Attorney fees do vary, influenced in part by what their own overhead costs are; all of us seek a profit, but not everyone has the same overhead.
Good luck, but improve your odds by reading some law books on the subject matter, even if you can not find an attorney who you like and can afford.
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