§ 873.120.Employment of Attorney

Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 4. Referees · Article 2. Contracts of Referee · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 873.120 requires court approval before the referee may hire an attorney, a written application naming the attorney and explaining the need for representation, a bar on hiring any attorney connected to a party's own counsel absent written consent of all parties, and an itemized description of services in any compensation claim.

Full Text of § 873.120

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) The referee may employ an attorney only with the approval of the court pursuant to Section 873.110.

(b) The application for approval shall be in writing and shall include the name of the attorney whom the referee wishes to employ and the necessity for the employment.

(c) The attorney so employed may not be attorney for, or associated with or employed by an attorney for, any party to the action except with the written consent of all the parties to the action.

(d) Any claim for compensation for the attorney shall detail the services performed by the attorney.

Plain-English Summary

A referee is a neutral officer of the court, and this section guards that neutrality when it comes to legal representation. Subdivision (a) requires court approval, under § 873.110, before the referee may employ an attorney at all.

That approval starts with a written application naming the attorney the referee wants to hire and explaining why the employment is necessary. The court isn't asked to rubber-stamp the referee's choice — it has to be shown why counsel is needed and who is proposed.

Subdivision (c) then closes off an obvious conflict: the attorney the referee employs can't also be attorney for, or associated with or employed by an attorney for, any party to the action, unless every party consents to that arrangement in writing.

Finally, subdivision (d) requires any claim for the attorney's compensation to detail the services performed, giving the court a concrete basis to evaluate the claim when it decides under § 873.110 whether to allow payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the referee hire an attorney without asking the court first?

No. Section 873.120(a) requires court approval under § 873.110 before the referee may employ an attorney.

What must the application to hire an attorney include?

The name of the attorney the referee wishes to employ and an explanation of why the employment is necessary.

Can the referee's attorney also represent one of the parties?

Not unless every party to the action consents in writing.

What must a claim for the attorney's compensation show?

A detailed account of the services the attorney performed.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 73.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

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