Office of the General Counsel

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal,Georgia
• Citation: Vol. 28 No. 2 Pg. 0038
• Pages: 0038
• Publication year: 2022

Office of the General Counsel No. Vol. 28 No. 2 Pg. 38 Georgia Bar Journal October, 2022

BY PAULA FREDERICK

A Fool for a Client?

Can a lawyer representing herself in a matter talk about the case to a represented opposing party, without first getting permission from their lawyer?

“He’s my husband!” the adverse party exclaims into the phone. “What do you mean I can’t talk to him without your OK?”

“You’re getting divorced,” you remind her. “I’m his lawyer. Take a look at Rule 4.2—the ‘no contact’ rule. ... To talk to him about the divorce, you have to go through me!”

“But I don’t have a client this time; I’m just a pro se litigant.”

“So you’re representing yourself!” you point out. “You know what they say about lawyers representing themselves,” you mutter as you hang up the phone.

Can a lawyer representing herself in a matter talk about the case to a represented opposing party, without first getting permission from their lawyer?

Until recently my answer would...