Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
what does this mean in plain english
Client hereby gives the Law Firm the special power of attorney and authority to
execute any and all pleadings, claims, drafts, checks, deposits, orders and other papers
which Client could properly execute in this matter, and to receive in the name and stead
of client any money or other things of value which may properly be payable or
deliverable to the Client on account of any judgment, settlement, award, or otherwise
recovered or agreed upon in connection with this matter, to be held in trust for said
Client.
2 Answers from Attorneys
On my first day in law school, I was given something akin to that language and was asked to put it into English.
Your paragraph means that your attorney can do almost anything on your behalf related to the case -- the attorney can sign any documents, including settlement or judgment checks, and place them into the attorney's client trust account and hold it/them there for you until disbursed. You might insist, though, that the retainer agreement require that the attorney obtain your approval before any settlement is entered into -- if it doesn't already say so.
The language you referenced is known as "power of attorney" which is essentially your authorization to your lawyer to do things on your behalf. This is very common and must every lawyer that practices personal injury law has that type of language in their retainer agreements.
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