A. Service is made on a person who is represented by another by appointment of court, operation of law, or mandate, through personal or domiciliary service on such representative. B. Service on an attorney, as a representative of a client, is proper when the attorney's secretary is served in the attorney's office. C. For the purposes of this Article "secretary" shall be defined as the person assigned to a particular attorney and who is charged with the performance of that part of the attorney's business concerned with the keeping of records, the sending and receiving of correspondence, and the preparation and monitoring of the attorney's appointments calendar.
Art. 1235.Service On Representative
Book II. Ordinary Proceedings · Title II. Citation and Service of Process · Chapter 2. Service On Persons · Enacted 1991 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 30, 2026
In one sentenceArticle 1235 provides that a person represented by another through court appointment, operation of law, or mandate is served through personal or domiciliary service on that representative, and that an attorney representing a client may be served through personal service on the attorney's secretary at the attorney's office.
Full Text of Art. 1235
Amendment History
Acts 1991, No. 45, §1.
Plain-English Summary
Some people can't be served in the usual way because they act through someone else: a minor through a tutor, an interdict through a curator, an absent person through a court-appointed representative, or anyone who has given another person a mandate to act for them. Article 1235's first paragraph handles all of these by directing that service on the represented person happens through personal or domiciliary service on the representative instead.
The second paragraph addresses a narrower situation: serving an attorney who represents a client. There, personal service on the attorney's secretary, made at the attorney's office, counts as proper service on the attorney. The article defines "secretary" precisely for this purpose — the person assigned to that particular attorney who handles the attorney's records, correspondence, and calendar, rather than any employee who happens to answer the phone.
That definition matters because it keeps the rule from being read too broadly. A receptionist for an entire law firm who isn't assigned to the specific attorney and doesn't handle that attorney's calendar and correspondence doesn't necessarily qualify as the "secretary" Article 1235 describes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a person served if they're represented by a tutor, curator, or agent under a mandate?
Through personal or domiciliary service on the representative, rather than on the represented person directly.
Can an attorney be served by serving their secretary?
Yes, when the attorney is being served as a representative of a client. Personal service on the attorney's secretary at the attorney's office is proper.
How does Article 1235 define "secretary" for this purpose?
As the person assigned to that particular attorney who handles the attorney's records, correspondence, and appointment calendar — not any employee at the firm.
Does this article apply to serving a minor directly?
No. A represented minor is served through the tutor, following the same personal or domiciliary service rules that apply to the representative.
Source & verification. Article text is reproduced verbatim from
the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure (legis.la.gov). Enacted by the Louisiana Legislature.
Last verified July 30, 2026.
· Official source
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