(a) Limited Appearance of Attorneys.
(1) An attorney providing limited representation to an unrepresented party as authorized by Rule 1.2 of the Hawai‘i Rules of Professional Conduct may file with the court a “Notice of Limited Appearance,” appended to these Rules, if the representation will include appearances in court. The attorney shall use the form appended to the Rules or a substantially similar document.
(2) An attorney may submit in camera an “Agreement and Consent to Limited Representation” by using the form appended to these Rules or a substantially similar document.
(3) An attorney who has filed a “Notice of Limited Appearance” and who later files a pleading or motion outside the scope of the limited representation shall be deemed to have amended the notice to extend to the filing of that pleading or motion.
(b) Termination of Limited Representation.
(1) An attorney who has made a limited representation appearance, has filed a “Notice of Limited Appearance” and has completed the agreed- upon services stated in an “Agreement and Consent to Limited Representation,” may file a “Notice of Withdrawal of Limited Appearance” by using the form appended to these Rules or a substantially similar document.
(2) Any attorney who has filed a “Notice of Limited Appearance” and who seeks to withdraw prior to the completion of the agreed-upon services stated in the “Agreement and Consent to Limited Representation” shall file a motion for withdrawal of counsel pursuant to Rule 25.1 of these Rules.
(3) An attorney who provides limited representation that includes a court appearance but who has elected not to file a “Notice of Limited Appearance” shall file a motion for withdrawal of counsel pursuant to Rule 25.1 of these Rules.
(4) A client who objects to the withdrawal of the client’s attorney under this Rule 11.1(b) may file an “Objection to Withdrawal of Limited Appearance” using the form appended to these Rules or a substantially similar document, and a hearing will be scheduled. The objection shall be filed within 14 days of the date the attorney files the notice of withdrawal.
(5) In any hearing on a motion for withdrawal of counsel or an objection to withdrawal of limited appearance, the court shall consider the terms of any agreement for limited scope representation.
(c) Pleading Prepared for Unrepresented Party.
(1) When an attorney, regardless of whether a formal “Agreement and Consent to Limited Representation” has been entered into, provides limited representation to an unrepresented party by drafting a pleading, written motion, or other paper intended to be filed with the court, but the attorney has not agreed to appear in court or otherwise provide representation regarding that document, the attorney is not required to disclose the attorney’s name on that document. However, the first page of the document must conspicuously contain the following statement, “This document was prepared with the assistance of an attorney.” The unrepresented party must comply with this required disclosure. If, however, a pleading, motion, or other paper is prepared by an attorney providing limited representation under the auspices of a program sponsored by a nonprofit organization, court, or government, the pleading, motion or other paper need not contain this statement.
(2) An attorney who provides limited representation as described in paragraph (c)(1), above, shall be deemed to have made the certifications set forth in Rule 11 of these Rules.
Added September 17, 2019, effective September 17, 2019
Rule 11.1 lets an attorney take on a client for only part of a case, a limited scope, or "unbundled," representation authorized by Rule 1.2 of the Hawai‘i Rules of Professional Conduct. If that limited representation includes appearing in court, the attorney files a "Notice of Limited Appearance" using the form appended to the rules, and may separately submit an "Agreement and Consent to Limited Representation" to the court in camera. If the attorney later files something outside the scope described in the notice, the notice is deemed automatically amended to cover it.
The rule also governs how limited representation ends. An attorney who has completed the agreed-upon services may file a "Notice of Withdrawal of Limited Appearance"; one who wants to stop before finishing must instead move to withdraw under Rule 25.1, as must an attorney who appeared in court without ever filing a notice of limited appearance. A client may object to the withdrawal within 14 days, triggering a hearing. Finally, Rule 11.1 addresses a lawyer who drafts, but does not sign onto, a filing for a self-represented party: the document need not disclose the attorney's name, but its first page must conspicuously say it was prepared with an attorney's assistance, unless it came from a nonprofit, court, or government-sponsored program, and the drafting attorney is deemed to make the same certifications Rule 11 requires.