(A) An attorney shall not be deemed to have a conflict unless:
Rule 17.1.Method of Resolution
Rule 17. CONFLICTS–STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS · Last amended 2026 · Last verified July 17, 2026
In one sentenceWhen an attorney is double-booked as lead counsel or subpoenaed witness in two or more courts on the same day, Rule 17.1 requires written notice proposing a resolution and, absent agreement, resolves the conflict through a fixed priority ladder that puts criminal, jury, and earlier-filed cases ahead of the rest.
Full Text of Rule 17.1
(1) the attorney is lead counsel and/or has been subpoenaed as a witness in two or more actions; and
(2) the attorney certifies that the matters cannot be adequately handled and the client’s interest adequately protected by other counsel for the party in the action or by other attorneys in lead counsel’s firm; certifies that in spite of compliance with this rule, the attorney has been unable to resolve these conflicts; and certifies in the notice a proposed resolution by list of such cases in the order of priority specified by this rule.
(B) When an attorney is scheduled for a day certain by trial calendar, special setting, court order (including a subpoena compelling his or her appearance to testify), scheduling order issued by the Hearing Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, or written invitation issued by the Investigative Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission to appear in two or more courts (trial or appellate; state or federal) or any proceeding or meeting before either Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, the attorney shall give prompt written notice as specified in (A) above of the conflict to opposing counsel, to the clerk of each court and to the judge before whom each action is set for hearing (or, to an appropriate judge if there has been no designation of a presiding judge). The written notice shall contain the attorney’s proposed resolution of the appearance conflicts in accordance with the priorities established by this rule and shall set forth the order of cases to be tried with a listing of the date and data required by (B)(1)-(4) as to each case arranged in the order in which the cases should prevail under this rule. In the absence of objection from opposing counsel or the courts affected, the proposed order of conflict resolution shall stand as offered. Should a judge wish to change the order of cases to be tried, such notice shall be given promptly after agreement is reached between the affected judges.
Attorneys confronted by such conflicts are expected to give written notice such that it will be received at least seven days prior to the date of conflict.
Absent agreement, conflicts shall be promptly resolved by the judge or the clerk of each affected court in accordance with the following order of priorities:
(1) Criminal (felony), all proceedings or meetings before either Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, and habeas actions shall prevail over civil actions. Criminal actions in which a demand for speedy trial has been timely filed pursuant to OCGA §§ 17-7-170 and/or 17-7-171 shall automatically take precedence over all other actions unless otherwise directed by the court in which the speedy trial demand is pending;
(2) Jury trials and all proceedings or meetings before either Panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission shall prevail over non-jury matters, including trials and administrative proceedings;
(3) Within the category of non-jury matters, the following order of priority shall apply: (a) hearings with dependency case time limitations required by OCGA § 15-11-102 and termination of parental rights hearings, (b) trials, and (c) all other non-jury matters, including appellate arguments, hearings, and conferences.
(4) Within each of the above categories only, the action which was first filed shall take precedence.
(C) Conflict resolution shall not require the continuance of the other matter or matters not having priority. In the event any matter listed in the letter notice is disposed of prior to the scheduled time set for any other matter listed or subsequent to the scheduled time set but prior to the end of the calendar, the attorney shall immediately notify all affected parties, including the court affected, of the disposal and shall, absent good cause shown to the court, proceed with the remaining case or cases in which the conflict was resolved by the disposal in the order of priorities set forth in this rule.
Plain-English Summary
Every trial lawyer eventually gets scheduled in two places at once. Rule 17.1 does not treat every overlap as a real conflict — it only counts when the attorney is lead counsel or a subpoenaed witness in two or more matters, and only after the attorney certifies that no one else in the case or the firm can adequately cover it. That threshold keeps the rule from being used to dodge routine appearances.
Once a conflict exists, the attorney owes prompt written notice to opposing counsel, the clerks, and the judges in every affected court, ideally at least seven days before the conflict date. The notice has to propose an order for handling the cases, ranked the way the rule requires. If nobody objects, that proposed order stands as offered — no hearing needed. Judges can still rework the order themselves, but only after they have talked to each other and agreed on the change.
When there is no agreement, the rule supplies the tiebreaker itself. Criminal felony cases, Judicial Qualifications Commission matters, and habeas actions beat civil cases outright, and a case with a timely speedy-trial demand automatically jumps to the front unless the court in which the speedy trial demand is pending directs otherwise. Below that, jury trials outrank non-jury matters, and within non-jury matters, dependency and parental-rights hearings come before ordinary trials, which come before everything else. If two matters still tie within the same category, the case that was filed first wins.
Resolving a conflict this way does not force a continuance of the case that loses priority — it just fixes the order. And the rule keeps working even after cases get resolved: if a higher-priority matter settles or gets disposed of before or during its scheduled slot, the attorney has to tell everyone affected and move on to the next case in line, unless there is good cause not to.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does an attorney’s overlapping court dates count as a conflict under Rule 17.1?
Only when the attorney is lead counsel or has been subpoenaed as a witness in two or more actions and certifies that the matters cannot be adequately handled by other counsel for the party or by other lawyers in the firm.
How much advance notice should an attorney give of a scheduling conflict?
Attorneys are expected to give written notice that will be received at least seven days before the date of the conflict.
What happens if no one objects to the attorney’s proposed resolution of a conflict?
The proposed order of conflict resolution stands as offered, without need for a hearing or further order.
What type of case takes top priority when courts and counsel cannot agree on how to resolve a conflict?
Criminal felony cases, proceedings or meetings before either panel of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, and habeas actions take priority over civil actions, and a criminal case with a timely speedy-trial demand automatically takes precedence over everything else, unless the court in which the speedy trial demand is pending directs otherwise.
If the higher-priority case in a conflict gets resolved early, must the attorney still notify everyone?
Yes. The attorney must immediately notify all affected parties and the court of the disposal and, absent good cause, proceed with the remaining case in the priority order the rule sets out.
Amendment History
Amended effective March 9, 1989; October 9, 1997; January 17, 2008; October 23, 2008; October 25, 2012; November 28, 2013; July 15, 2021; April 9, 2026.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Uniform Superior Court Rules, published by the
Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia. Last verified July 17, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: Georgia attorney scheduling conflict ruleUSCR 17.1two trials same day conflict Georgia lawyerpriority order conflicting court dates Georgialead counsel double booked courtRule 17.1 Georgia Uniform Superior Court Rules