Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina
Is it normal for a lawyer who writes up your request for a divorce to add in a clause to recuse himself from any further dealings with you?
2 Answers from Attorneys
I have not seen the document. If you are talking about a divorce complaint, then the answer is no. If you are talking about a flat fee agreement whereby the attorney indicates he/she is charging a flat fee for the divorce and that the lawyer will not be obligated to perform any other work absent further agreement, then it would be ok. I have never seen an agreement where the lawyer says he/she will have no further dealings with the client.
"Recuse' would not be the appropriate word but it is very normal for an attorney to put in a statement that they be removed or allowed to withdraw as attorney of record upon completion of the matter they were retained for. This prevents the attorney from being sucked into future matters for which they were not acutally retained. This generally does not mean that your attorney doesn't like you or doesn't want to have future dealings with you but rather that representation on any future matters be the subject of a new retainer agreement with you.