Substitution of Attorney

SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY — UTAH STATE COURT

UTAH PROCEDURAL OVERVIEW

Governing Rule: Utah R. Civ. P. 74 governs withdrawal and substitution of counsel in Utah state courts. The rule creates two distinct pathways:

Pathway 1 — Consent-Based Substitution (No Court Order Required):
When a substituting attorney certifies in the notice of substitution that they will comply with the existing hearing schedule and all pending deadlines, court approval is not required. All three signatures (withdrawing attorney, substituting attorney, and client) must appear on the document.

Pathway 2 — Court Approval Required:
Court approval is required when: (a) a motion is pending, (b) a hearing or trial has been scheduled, and the substituting attorney cannot comply with the existing schedule, or (c) there is no replacement attorney and the party will proceed pro se. A motion to withdraw must describe any pending motions and the dates and purposes of any scheduled hearings or trials.

E-Filing: Utah state courts use the MyCase e-filing system (utcourts.gov). When filing a substitution of attorney, use document type "SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL." The document is routed to a court staff queue for review. Update service contacts in MyCase immediately after filing.

Utah State Bar Numbers: Utah attorney bar numbers are assigned by the Utah State Bar. Format: numeric (e.g., Bar No. 12345).

Client Property: Upon substitution, the withdrawing attorney must comply with Utah RPC 1.16(d), including timely return of client files, funds, and property, and providing sufficient notice for the client to secure alternate representation.

COURT CAPTION

IN THE [________________________________] DISTRICT COURT
[________________________________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT
STATE OF UTAH
[________________________________] COUNTY

[________________________________],
Plaintiff,

v.

[________________________________],
Defendant.

Case No.: [____________________________]
Judge: [________________________________]
Division: [____]

NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY

[Select one pathway below — delete the other before filing]

PATHWAY A: CONSENT-BASED SUBSTITUTION

(No court order required — use when substituting attorney can comply with all existing deadlines and schedules)

Pursuant to Utah R. Civ. P. 74, [________________________________] (the "Party") hereby substitutes [________________________________], Utah State Bar No. [________], of [________________________________], as attorney of record in place of [________________________________], Utah State Bar No. [________], of [________________________________].

The substituting attorney certifies, as required by Utah R. Civ. P. 74, that they will comply with all existing hearing schedules and pending deadlines in this matter. Accordingly, no court order is required to effectuate this substitution, and it is effective upon filing.

PATHWAY B: SUBSTITUTION REQUIRING COURT APPROVAL

(Use when a motion is pending, hearing/trial is scheduled, or substituting attorney cannot comply with existing schedule)

Pursuant to Utah R. Civ. P. 74, [________________________________] (the "Party") moves this Court to approve the substitution of [________________________________], Utah State Bar No. [________], of [________________________________], as attorney of record in place of [________________________________], Utah State Bar No. [________], of [________________________________].

Court approval is required for the following reason(s):
☐ A motion is currently pending (described below)
☐ A hearing or trial has been scheduled (described below)
☐ Substituting attorney cannot comply with the current scheduling order
☐ Party will proceed pro se (no substituting attorney)

Description of Pending Matter Requiring Court Approval:

Pending Motion(s): [________________________________]
Scheduled Hearing/Trial Date: [__/__/____]
Purpose of Scheduled Hearing/Trial: [________________________________]
Impact on Existing Schedule: [________________________________]

PARTY INFORMATION

Party Represented:
Name: [________________________________]
Role in Case: ☐ Plaintiff ☐ Defendant ☐ Third-Party Plaintiff ☐ Third-Party Defendant ☐ Cross-Claimant ☐ Cross-Defendant ☐ Intervenor ☐ Other: [____________]
Address: [________________________________]
City, State, Zip: [________________________________]
Phone: [____________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

WITHDRAWING ATTORNEY INFORMATION

Full Name: [________________________________]
Utah State Bar No.: [________]
Firm Name: [________________________________]
Street Address: [________________________________]
City, State, Zip: [________________________________], Utah [________]
Phone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Fax: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email: [________________________________]
MyCase e-filing ID: [________________________________]

Certification of Withdrawing Attorney:
I, [________________________________], certify that:

☐ I have given the client written notice of this substitution and the effective date.
☐ I have provided or will provide the client with all client property, files, and documents within [____] days of the effective date of substitution, consistent with Utah RPC 1.16(d).
☐ I have notified the client of all upcoming deadlines and hearings.
☐ I have or will transfer the client trust account balance to: ☐ the client ☐ new counsel ☐ remains in trust pending instruction.
☐ No client funds or property belonging to this client remain in my possession or in my firm's possession except as noted: [________________________________]
☐ I have removed my appearance from MyCase and updated service contacts.

SUBSTITUTING ATTORNEY INFORMATION

Full Name: [________________________________]
Utah State Bar No.: [________]
Firm Name: [________________________________]
Street Address: [________________________________]
City, State, Zip: [________________________________], Utah [________]
Phone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Fax: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Email: [________________________________]
MyCase e-filing ID: [________________________________]

Certification of Substituting Attorney (Required under Utah R. Civ. P. 74):
I, [________________________________], hereby certify that:

☐ I am an active member in good standing of the Utah State Bar.
☐ I have reviewed the file and am familiar with the status of this matter.
☐ I will comply with all existing hearing schedules and pending deadlines.
(If checked, no court order is required — Pathway A applies.)

☐ I cannot comply with all existing schedules and court approval is required before this substitution is effective.
(If checked, Pathway B applies and this document must be filed as a Motion.)

☐ I have added my appearance to MyCase and updated the service contacts list.

CLIENT CONSENT AND AUTHORIZATION

I, [________________________________], the undersigned party/client, hereby:

1. Consent to the withdrawal of [________________________________] as my attorney of record in the above-captioned matter;

2. Authorize [________________________________] to appear as my new attorney of record;
   (OR, if proceeding pro se): elect to represent myself pro se going forward, understanding that I will be bound by all court rules and deadlines.

3. Acknowledge that I have been advised of the following:
   ☐ All pending deadlines and hearing dates in this matter
   ☐ My right to obtain a copy of my complete file from withdrawing counsel
   ☐ The status of any retainer or trust account funds
   ☐ That this substitution is subject to court approval if Pathway B applies

4. Acknowledge that my current mailing address and contact information is:
   Address: [________________________________]
   City, State, Zip: [________________________________]
   Phone: [____________________________]
   Email: [________________________________]

PRE-FILING CHECKLIST

☐ Confirm the correct pathway (A or B) based on pending motions and scheduled hearings
☐ Verify Utah State Bar numbers for both withdrawing and substituting attorneys
☐ Obtain client signature and date
☐ Obtain withdrawing attorney signature and date
☐ Obtain substituting attorney signature and date
☐ Confirm substituting attorney is in good standing with the Utah State Bar
☐ Review all upcoming deadlines and confirm substituting attorney's compliance capability
☐ Check for any court-specific local rules (e.g., Salt Lake District Court, Utah County, etc.)
☐ Prepare Proposed Order (if Pathway B — court approval required)
☐ Prepare Certificate of Service
☐ File via MyCase e-filing using document type "SUBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL"
☐ Update MyCase service contacts after filing
☐ Serve all parties per Utah R. Civ. P. 5
☐ Transfer client file, funds, and property consistent with Utah RPC 1.16(d)
☐ Update client's contact information with court clerk if client proceeding pro se

SIGNATURE BLOCKS

WITHDRAWING ATTORNEY:

[________________________________]
[Name], Utah State Bar No. [________]
[Firm Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip]
[Phone] | [Email]

Date: [__/__/____]

SUBSTITUTING ATTORNEY:

[________________________________]
[Name], Utah State Bar No. [________]
[Firm Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip]
[Phone] | [Email]

Date: [__/__/____]

CLIENT/PARTY:

[________________________________]
[Printed Name]
[Address]
[City, State, Zip]
[Phone] | [Email]

Date: [__/__/____]

(If party is a business entity):

[________________________________]
[Printed Name], [Title]
On behalf of [Entity Name]

Date: [__/__/____]

PROPOSED ORDER GRANTING SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY

(Include only if Pathway B — court approval required; omit if Pathway A)

IN THE [________________________________] DISTRICT COURT
[________________________________] JUDICIAL DISTRICT, STATE OF UTAH
[________________________________] COUNTY

[________________________________],
Plaintiff,
v.
[________________________________],
Defendant.

Case No.: [____________________________]
Judge: [________________________________]

ORDER GRANTING SUBSTITUTION OF ATTORNEY

This matter came before the Court on the Notice/Motion for Substitution of Attorney filed by [________________________________]. The Court, having reviewed the filing and being fully advised:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. [________________________________], Utah State Bar No. [________], is hereby SUBSTITUTED as attorney of record for [________________________________] (the "[________________________________]") in this matter, effective [__/__/____].

2. [________________________________], Utah State Bar No. [________], is hereby RELIEVED of all further responsibilities as counsel for [________________________________] in this matter, effective upon entry of this Order.

3. All future pleadings, notices, and correspondence shall be directed to:
   [________________________________]
   [Firm Name]
   [Address]
   [City, State, Zip]
   Email: [________________________________]

4. ☐ The existing scheduling order remains in effect without modification.
   ☐ The Court modifies the scheduling order as follows: [________________________________]

5. ☐ The hearing currently scheduled for [__/__/____] shall proceed as set.
   ☐ The hearing currently scheduled for [__/__/____] is rescheduled to [__/__/____].

DATED this [____] day of [________________], 20[____].

[________________________________]
[JUDGE NAME]
[________________________________] District Court Judge

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing Notice of Substitution of Attorney [and Proposed Order] to be served upon the following persons by the indicated method(s), consistent with Utah R. Civ. P. 5:

[________________________________]
[Name of Attorney or Person Completing Service]
Utah State Bar No. [________] (if attorney)

Date: [__/__/____]

PRACTICE NOTES AND UTAH-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE

Pending Deadlines Warning: Before filing, identify all upcoming deadlines: trial dates, motion response deadlines, discovery cut-offs, expert disclosure dates, ADR deadlines, and pretrial conference dates. Communicate these to substituting counsel in writing.

Limited Appearances (Utah R. Civ. P. 75): If the withdrawing attorney entered a limited appearance under Rule 75, withdrawal is accomplished by filing a notice of withdrawal upon conclusion of the limited purpose — or by orally announcing withdrawal on the record if the judge permits. This form should be adapted accordingly.

Utah RPC 1.16(d) Obligations: Withdrawing counsel must: (1) give reasonable notice, (2) allow time for the client to retain other counsel, (3) surrender client papers and property, and (4) refund advance payments of unearned fees.

Pro Hac Vice Counsel: If either attorney is admitted pro hac vice, ensure that the sponsoring Utah-licensed attorney requirement is satisfied before filing.

Local Rules: Check local court rules for your specific Utah district/county (Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber, etc.) for any supplemental requirements.

MyCase Tips: After filing, immediately update the service contacts list in MyCase to add new counsel and remove withdrawing counsel. Failure to update service contacts may result in missed notifications.

File Transfer Timeline: Utah RPC 1.16(d) requires prompt return of client materials. Industry practice is to transfer the complete file within 30 days of substitution, or sooner if deadlines are imminent.

Sources and References:

• Utah R. Civ. P. 74: https://legacy.utcourts.gov/rules/view.php?type=urcp&rule=74
• Utah Rules of Professional Conduct 1.16: https://www.utahbar.org/rules-policies/utah-rules-of-professional-conduct/
• Utah Courts MyCase e-filing: https://www.utcourts.gov/en/home/courts-and-filings/efiling.html
• Utah State Bar: https://www.utahbar.org