(a) Appearance in person or by attorney. A party, other than one specified in section 1201 of this chapter, may prosecute or defend a civil action in person or by attorney, except that a corporation or voluntary association shall appear by attorney, except as otherwise provided in sections 1809 and 1809-A of the New York city civil court act, sections 1809 and 1809-A of the uniform district court act and sections 1809 and 1809-A of the uniform city court act, and except as otherwise provided in section 501 and section 1809 of the uniform justice court act. If a party appears by attorney such party may not act in person in the action except by consent of the court.
§ 321.Attorneys.
Article 3. Jurisdiction and Service, Appearance and Choice of Court · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 21, 2026
In one sentenceCPLR 321 governs how parties appear and change lawyers in a New York civil case: corporations must appear by attorney, attorneys may be changed by consent or court order, proceedings pause when an attorney dies or is disabled, and a lawyer may appear for limited purposes only.
Full Text of CPLR 321
(b) Change or withdrawal of attorney.
1. Unless the party is a person specified in section 1201, an attorney of record may be changed by filing with the clerk a consent to the change signed by the retiring attorney and signed and acknowledged by the party. Notice of such change of attorney shall be given to the attorneys for all parties in the action or, if a party appears without an attorney, to the party.
2. An attorney of record may withdraw or be changed by order of the court in which the action is pending, upon motion on such notice to the client of the withdrawing attorney, to the attorneys of all other parties in the action or, if a party appears without an attorney, to the party, and to any other person, as the court may direct.
(c) Death, removal or disability of attorney. If an attorney dies, becomes physically or mentally incapacitated, or is removed, suspended or otherwise becomes disabled at any time before judgment, no further proceeding shall be taken in the action against the party for whom he appeared, without leave of the court, until thirty days after notice to appoint another attorney has been served upon that party either personally or in such manner as the court directs.
(d) Limited scope appearance.
1. An attorney may appear on behalf of a party in a civil action or proceeding for limited purposes. Whenever an attorney appears for limited purposes, a notice of limited scope appearance shall be filed in addition to any self-represented appearance that the party may have already filed with the court. The notice of limited scope appearance shall be signed by the attorney entering the limited scope appearance and shall define the purposes for which the attorney is appearing. Upon such filing, and unless otherwise directed by the court, the attorney shall be entitled to appear for the defined purposes.
2. Unless otherwise directed by the court upon a finding of extraordinary circumstances and for good cause shown, upon completion of the purposes for which the attorney has filed a limited scope appearance, the attorney shall file a notice of completion of limited scope appearance which shall constitute the attorney’s withdrawal from the action or proceeding.
Plain-English Summary
CPLR 321 covers four related topics: who may represent a party, how to change attorneys, what happens when an attorney becomes unavailable, and how a limited scope appearance works. Any party may appear personally or through an attorney, with one central exception: a corporation or voluntary association has to appear by attorney. Once a party has appeared through an attorney, that party can't also act personally in the case without the court's consent.
Changing attorneys is easy when everyone agrees: the retiring and new attorneys sign a consent, file it with the clerk, and notify the other parties. When consent isn't available, the attorney can still be changed or allowed to withdraw, but only by court order on a motion, with notice going to the client and to the other parties' attorneys.
If an attorney of record dies, becomes physically or mentally incapacitated, or is removed, suspended, or otherwise disabled before judgment, the case pauses. No further proceedings can be taken against that attorney's client until thirty days after notice to retain a new attorney has been served on the client, unless the court orders otherwise.
The section also lets an attorney take on a case for a defined, limited purpose rather than a full representation. The attorney files a notice of limited scope appearance describing exactly what they're handling, and once that work is done, files a notice of completion, which itself operates as the attorney's withdrawal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a corporation represent itself in a New York civil case?
No. CPLR 321 requires a corporation or voluntary association to appear by attorney, with limited exceptions in certain lower courts.
How do I change attorneys mid-case if both attorneys agree?
File a signed consent to the change with the clerk and give notice of the change to the attorneys for all other parties, or to any unrepresented party.
What if my attorney won't consent to withdrawing?
You need a court order on motion, with notice to the client and to the attorneys for all other parties, or to any unrepresented party.
What happens to a case if my attorney dies or is suspended?
No further proceedings can be taken against you for thirty days after notice to retain a new attorney is served on you, unless the court directs otherwise.
What is a limited scope appearance?
An arrangement where an attorney represents a party for only a defined purpose, filed as a notice of limited scope appearance, alongside any appearance the party has made without a lawyer.
Does an attorney have to formally withdraw after finishing a limited scope appearance?
Yes, by filing a notice of completion of limited scope appearance, which itself serves as the attorney's withdrawal, unless the court finds extraordinary circumstances requiring otherwise.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subds (a), (b) and (c) of this section are derived, respectively, from CPA § 236, RCP 56, and CPA § 240. In subds (a) and (b) the reference to a person specified in § 1201 has been substituted for the partial references in CPA § 236 and RCP 56 to infancy or incompetency. Under this formulation, an adult “incapable of adequately protecting his rights” is covered as well as a judicially-declared incompetent.
Subd (c) alters CPA § 240 by the addition of the words “without leave of the court.” This change is designed to allow the court to vary the rule in cases where the stay of proceedings would produce undue hardship to the opposing party, as where the time to take an appeal or other action would run or where a provisional remedy is sought and speed is essential.
The language of CPA § 240 regarding the kinds of disability covered has been conformed to that of new CPLR § 5514(b), which allows the party whose attorney is disabled an extension of time to appeal. Section 240, a group of recent cases have held, does not apply to a party’s discharge of his attorney or any other disability caused by the voluntary act of the client or his attorney or both. Davalos v Davalos, 283 App Div 699, 127 NY Supp 570 (1st Dept 1954); Hendry v Hilton, 283 App Div 168, 127 NY Supp 454 (2d Dept 1953); Cann v Cann, 204 Misc 1069, 127 NYS2d 55 (Sup Ct 1954). Contra: Thomas v Thomas, 178 Misc 349, 34 NYS2d 320 (Sup Ct 1942). “It connotes a force majeure, such as death, mental or physical incompetency, induction into military service, disqualification resulting from statute or from election to judicial office, . . . disbarment or removal by the court from the office of attorney at law or . . . suspension by the court from the practice of the law.” Hendry v Hilton, 283 App Div 168, 171, 127 NYS2d 454, 457 (2d Dept 1953). “Were any other rule adopted,” one of the decisions reasoned, “the situation would be open to fraud, an adverse party might be unjustly frustrated at a critical moment, and a harassing and confusing jurisdictional void might be created in the matter of the service of interlocutory applications in law suits. . . .” Cann v Cann, 204 Misc 1069, 1071– 72, 127 NYS2d 55, 58 (Sup Ct 1954).
1979 Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Civil Procedure:
The present subdivision (b) of CPLR 321 provides for a change of attorney by the filing of an appropriate consent, and, when consent is lacking, by court order. Some courts have not permitted a mere motion to be used to obtain the order, but have required that a formal special proceeding be brought under Article 4 of the CPLR. In either instance the question of whom to notify of the motion or special proceeding is not addressed.
The Committee proposes to divide the present subdivision (b) into two paragraphs. The first, paragraph 1, would cover the change of attorney by consent and would make mere linguistic adjustments to set the provision up as a separate paragraph.
The gist of the Committee’s proposal is in the addition of paragraph 2. This one addresses the change of attorney requiring court permission because consent has not been forthcoming. The provision sets forth that the procedure for the change shall be a mere motion, thus clarifying that a special proceeding need not be brought for this purpose. And rather than attempt to set forth whom to notify, the amendment leaves it to the court to determine. It does this by requiring the motion to be “on such notice to such persons as the court may direct”, i.e., it contemplates the procedure of an order to show cause. This will enable the court to determine, on a case by case basis, who shall be notified, and how. There may be many parties, and the action may have been quiescent for a time. Leaving it to the court to determine whom to notify, and by what method, permits the factors applicable to the individual case to be weighed. One obvious person to notify is of course the client, and it is contemplated that the client will be among those notified. The method of notification, however, in respect of the client as well as all others who are to receive notice, is left to the court. The person making the motion would always do well to advise the court, in affidavits accompanying the application for the order to show cause, of all factors pertaining to the giving of notice.
Amendment History
Add, L 1962, ch 308, § 1, eff Sept 1, 1963; amd, L 1964, ch 511, § 1; L 1975, ch 176, § 1; L 1976, ch 200, § 1; L 1980, ch 119, § 1, eff Jan 1, 1981; L 1987, ch 653, § 5; L 1991, ch 236, § 1, eff July 1, 1991; L 2022, ch 710, § 1, effective December 16, 2022.
Source & verification. Provision text, History, and Advisory
Committee Notes are reproduced verbatim from the Consolidated Laws of New York.
Last verified July 21, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: New York limited scope appearancechange attorney of record New Yorkcorporation must appear by attorney NYattorney withdrawal New York civil caseCPLR 321 attorney death disability