Rule 87.Limited Scope Representation

Rule 87 gives attorneys a formal way to represent someone for less than the whole case. It implements Rule 1.2(c) of the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct, which already permits a lawyer to limit the scope of representation if the client agrees and the limitation is reasonable. Rule 87 fills in the procedural side: how the court and the other party learn about the limitation, and what happens when the attorney's role ends.

The rule splits into two tracks. If an attorney appears for a defined slice of a proceeding -- say, a single hearing or a specific motion -- the attorney must file and serve a notice of limited scope representation before or at the same time the representation or the case begins, so the court and opposing counsel know exactly what the attorney is and isn't handling. But if the attorney's only role is drafting or helping draft a pleading, motion, or other paper for someone who otherwise represents themselves, no notice is required at all. Instead, the attorney adds a notation to the bottom of the document identifying themselves as the drafting lawyer under Rule 1.2(c), without needing to sign it.

Rule 87 also builds in protection on both ends of that drafting relationship. The attorney may rely on the self-represented person's account of the facts unless the attorney has reason to think it's false or leaves out something material -- so a lawyer helping draft a document isn't expected to independently verify everything the client tells them. And when the representation is over, the attorney doesn't need a judge's permission to withdraw; filing a notice of completion with proof it was served on the client ends the attorney's role automatically.

Finally, Rule 87 narrows the opposing party's service obligations. Once a notice of limited scope representation is on file, the other side only needs to serve the limited-scope attorney on matters that fall within the scope described in that notice -- everything else still goes to the client directly.