Rule 369.Role of County Attorney and Employees of the County Agency

Last amended November 22, 2023 · Last verified July 1, 2026

In one sentenceRule 369 requires the county attorney to approve the form and content of legal documents county agency employees prepare, lets those employees handle tasks like preparing pleadings and negotiating settlements under the attorney's direction, but bars them from representing the agency or recommending a support amount at a hearing.

Full Text of Rule 369

Text sizeJump to: (369.01) (369.02)

369.01 Role of County Attorney

Subdivision 1. Approval as to Form and Content. The county attorney shall review and approve as to form and content all legal documents prepared by employees of the county agency for use in the expedited process or in district court.

Subd. 2. Attendance at Hearings. The county agency shall appear through counsel. However, the county attorney may authorize an employee of the county agency to appear on behalf of the county attorney to present an agreement or stipulation reached by all the parties. An employee of the county agency shall not advocate a position on behalf of any party. The county attorney is not required to be present at any hearing to which the county agency is not a party.

369.02 Role of Employees of County Agency

Subdivision 1. County Attorney Direction. Under the direction of, and in consultation with, the county attorney, and consistent with Rules 5.3 and 5.5 of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct, employees of the county agency may perform the following duties:

(a) meet and confer with parties by mail, telephone, electronic, or other means regarding legal issues;

(b) explain to parties the purpose, procedure, and function of the expedited child support process and the role and authority of nonattorney employees of the county agency regarding legal issues;

(c) prepare pleadings, subject to review and approval of the county attorney, including, but not limited to, summonses and complaints, notices, motions, subpoenas, orders to show cause, proposed orders, administrative orders, and stipulations and agreements;

(d) issue administrative subpoenas;

(e) prepare judicial notices;

(f) negotiate settlement agreements;

(g) attend and participate as witnesses in hearings and other proceedings, and if requested by the child support magistrate, present evidence, agreements and stipulations of the parties, and any other information deemed appropriate by the magistrate;

(h) participate in such other activities and perform such other duties as delegated by the county attorney; and

(i) exercise other powers and perform other duties as permitted by statute or these rules. Employees of the county agency shall not represent the county agency at hearings conducted in the expedited process.

Subd. 2. Support Recommendations Precluded. Employees of the county agency may not offer recommendations regarding support at the hearing unless called as a witness at the hearing. Computation and presentation of support calculations are not considered recommendations as to support.

Subd. 3. County Attorney Direction Not Required. Without direction from the county attorney, employees of the county agency may perform the duties listed under Minn. Stat. § 518A.46, subd. 2(c) (2006). In addition, employees of the county agency may testify at hearings at the request of a party or the child support magistrate.

Subd. 4. Performance of Duties Not Practice of Law. Performance of the duties identified in Rule 369.02 by employees of the county agency does not constitute the unauthorized practice of law for purposes of these rules or Minn. Stat. § 481.02 (2000).

End

Advisory Committee Comments

Advisory Committee Comment – 2008 Amendment

Rule 369.02, subd. 3, is amended to update the statutory references to reflect the recodification, effective January 1, 2007, of portions of the relevant statutes, that became part of Minn. Stat. ch. 518A.

Advisory Committee Comment – 2023 Amendments

Rule 369.02, subd. 1 is modified in 2023 to make it consistent with Minn. Stat. § 518A.46, subd. 2.

Amendment History

(Amended effective November 22, 2023.)

Plain-English Summary

Rule 369 splits responsibility between the county attorney and the nonattorney staff at the county agency. Every legal document a county agency employee prepares for use in the expedited process or in district court needs the county attorney's review and approval as to form and content before it goes anywhere. At a hearing, the county agency has to appear through counsel, though the county attorney can authorize an employee to appear instead just to present an agreement or stipulation the parties already reached.

Within that framework, employees can do a good deal of the day-to-day work under the county attorney's direction. They may meet with parties, explain how the expedited process works, prepare pleadings, including subpoenas as documents, subject to the county attorney's review and approval, prepare judicial notices, negotiate settlement agreements, and appear as witnesses or present agreed stipulations at a hearing if asked to. Issuing an administrative subpoena is different: the rule grants that power to employees directly, without the same review-and-approval step pleadings go through. Some of this work does not need the county attorney's direction at all: employees can perform the specific duties a support statute assigns directly to them, and can testify at a hearing whenever a party or the magistrate asks them to.

Two lines stay firm no matter how much responsibility an employee takes on. An employee can never represent the county agency at a hearing, or advocate a position on behalf of any party, and an employee can never recommend a support amount at a hearing unless called as a witness, though calculating and presenting the numbers behind a support calculation is not treated as making a recommendation. None of this work counts as the unauthorized practice of law, precisely because the rule spells out its limits so specifically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a county attorney have to approve documents prepared by county agency staff?

Yes. The county attorney must review and approve as to form and content every legal document a county agency employee prepares for the expedited process or for district court.

Can a county agency employee appear at a hearing instead of the county attorney?

Only to present an agreement or stipulation the parties have already reached, and only if the county attorney authorizes it; otherwise the county agency must appear through counsel.

Can a county agency employee recommend a support amount at a hearing?

No, not unless that employee is called as a witness. Calculating and presenting the numbers behind a support calculation is not treated as a recommendation, but offering an opinion on what the support amount should be is off limits otherwise.

Do county agency employees need the county attorney's direction for everything they do?

No. Employees may perform certain duties assigned to them directly by statute without the county attorney's direction, and may testify at a hearing whenever a party or the magistrate requests it.

Is a county agency employee practicing law when handling these tasks?

No. Rule 369 states that performing the duties it authorizes, such as preparing pleadings or negotiating settlements under the county attorney's direction, does not constitute the unauthorized practice of law.

Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the official Minnesota Rules of Family Court Procedure (Minn. R. Gen. Prac. 369). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 480.051). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: county attorney role expedited processcounty agency employee dutiesprohibited support recommendations by staffunauthorized practice of law child supportwho represents county agency at hearing