Why An Attorney Might Withdraw As Your Representative At the End of Your Family Law Case

Join us as we sit down with Founding Attorney, Lewis Landerholm, to discuss why your attorney might withdraw from your case once your judgment of dissolution is filed and signed by the judge. In this interview, Lewis answers the following FAQs:

•    When Does My Case End?
 •    When Do You Stop Representing Me?
 •    Why Do You Withdraw from My Case?
 •    What Do You Do with Documents I’ve Sent You for My Case After You Withdraw?
 •    What Should I Do After You Withdraw as My Attorney of Record? 

If you would like to speak with one of our attorneys, please call our office at (503) 227-0200, or visit our website at https://www.pacificcascadelegal.com.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this communication is intended to provide legal advice nor does it constitute a client-attorney relationship, therefore you should not interpret the contents as such.

Transcript

Intro:
Welcome to Modern Family Matters, a podcast devoted to exploring family law topics that matter most to you. Covering a wide range of legal, personal, and family law matters, with expert analysis from skilled attorneys and professional guests, we hope that our podcast provides answers, clarity, and guidance towards a better tomorrow for you and your family. Here's your host, Steve Altishin.

Steve Altishin  
Hi, I'm Steve Altishin, Director of Client Partnerships here at Pacific Cascade Legal. And today we have our Founding Attorney, Lewis Landerholm, with us to talk about why we withdraw as attorney at the end of your case. Lewis, how're you doing today?

Lewis Landerholm  
Oh, I'm doing great. Steve, how are you?

Steve Altishin  
I'm doing well. Today we got sun.

Lewis Landerholm  
Yes.

Steve Altishin  
I want to start with a simple, or maybe not so simple, question. When exactly does the case end?

Lewis Landerholm  
Well, I mean, I guess there's some more complicating issues surrounding the ending of a case. But I mean, let's sort of just talk through a normal case. A normal case goes in front of a judge, or maybe doesn't go in front of a judge. But we put the judgment together, the party signs the judgment, and then it goes into the court, the court then would sign it. And then at that point, the judgment is entered. And as far as the legal process is concerned, the case would be done. Now, keep in mind that if trial happens, we have 28 days to enter the judgment. And sometimes it can take longer, and sometimes you can have hearings surrounding the judgment. So that part by itself can take a month or two, but then once the judgment is signed and entered, then the court part of the procedure is done, and it's finished. And so then, you know, the divorce, or whatever case, would be finalized at that point.

Steve Altishin  
And is that typically, then, when you would withdraw from the case, as the attorney of record?

Lewis Landerholm  
Typically, yes. We also give our clients a choice in the matter as far as if they want us to withdraw at that moment. There's specific reasons to withdraw or not to withdraw, one of the main reasons why we think clients want us to withdraw is so that we can't be served on their behalf. So if we're still attorneys of record in the case, then any modification in the future, any, you know, action in the future, even if it's, you know, four or five years down the road, we could still be potentially served, which then, you know, if we can't find our client, or if there's extraordinary type circumstances, that can be problematic. And so, especially, depending on where people have moved and all of that. Syou know, while sometimes our clients choose, they want us to be able to be served so that way they don't have to, you know, they don't have to worry that, they won't get served themselves. But that's sort of a personal decision that our clients make. And we talk to them at the end of, you know, the advantages and disadvantages, but most of the time, it's more advantageous to have us withdraw, not to remain attorneys of record.

Steve Altishin  
That makes sense, because it would seem that if they don't know something's happened, they're not gonna be able to, you know, defend against, they have to at least know what's happening.

Lewis Landerholm  
Yeah, I mean, the other advantage is, at least we would know it's happening. So then we can, at least, you know, run some point. So sometimes it does make sense to stay on a case. But, you know, it's not a one size fits all approach. But for the vast majority of people, we do end up withdrawing. And that takes over the next couple of months after a case is done, getting the file all archived, getting all the documents back to clients. And so there's a wrap up process that occurs once the case is technically finalized in the court process.

Steve Altishin  
That kind of leads to the question that I get a lot from people who, who see that my attorney is withdrawn, and it doesn't mean you don't want to represent them in the future. It's really like you said, just to protect you and them. And that kind of leads to, you know, what happens after you withdraw? What sort of is the the process that goes on after you withdraw?

Lewis Landerholm  
The withdrawal is just a formal process with the courts that just tells them that we're no longer attorney of record for that specific case. I mean, we have clients who remain clients for years  when we're not attorneys of record, and we have clients who have been clients for years that we were never attorney of record for. So just because we're withdrawing from the case doesn't mean that we're no longer the clients attorney, we're still providing advice, we're still potentially doing work on a case. It just may not have anything to do with the actual court process. And so it's just finalizing the court process, and just sort of tying that bow so that way, the court understands that they're not coming to us anymore for you know, for notices, for anything that's going on in the case. We're working directly with the client behind the scenes, and then other notices that can go directly to the client as well.

Steve Altishin  
If you do close out and withdraw, is there stuff that happens, I mean what happens to their, if they've got documents with you? Your file, what do you do with your file?

Lewis Landerholm  
Yeah, so typically we have to archive our file for 10 years. And so we go through an archival process at the actual end of the case, to make sure that all the documents are kept electronically, we keep everything electronically so that we can maintain that record. As far as physical documents, it gets a little technical, but most physical documents are not required to be kept, we send back all original documents to a client, because you know, clients want their original documents, because we only have to keep original documents, anything that is a copy, anything that we have scanned, you know, we typically can just discard those, and shred those. So that way, we maintain the electronic file, but we don't maintain a physical copy for the 10 year process.

Steve Altishin  
So if something does come up a year from now, four years from now, you'll be able to just get up and started right away. It's not as if they have to start the whole process again, from the beginning. 

Lewis Landerholm  
Yeah. I mean, we have everything, everything that happened in the first case, we have all the communication, we have all the notes, we have all the pleadings, we have everything in the file, so the file still exists. We have the file, like I said, maintained for 10 years. And so you know, we we can find anything that's, you know, that's necessary in the event of a modification, in the event of, you know, a new issue that comes up. We represent a number of clients multiple times in over the course of the years.

Steve Altishin  
So, what happens, or what do you advise a client, when the case is over, you know, after you have withdrawn? What do you advise them to do? Because, obviously, they need to be somewhat aware that something might happen.

Lewis Landerholm  
Yeah, I mean, as far as depending on the case, you know, a lot of times it's case dependent, but especially with like, divorces, a lot of times, it's talking about getting their estate planning redone, because the divorce by itself will terminate any heirs, any sort of beneficiaries within an old will. So, you know, there's a lot of advice surrounding the estate planning portion of things, a lot of advice on what to do, if something happens, and, you know, if your ex files to modify for anything-- for support for parenting time, for custody, or what have you. And also just the practical application of whatever else comes up, a lot of times people are, you know, moving households, or they're doing this or that, and, you know, we would point a lot of them to you, obviously, Steve, because you help with getting referrals for, you know, for things that are outside of the legal scope, where we can help clients, you know, get realtors or get, you know, movers or get whatever it may be, so that they can start to transition into their sort of new household and new life.

Steve Altishin  
So, I guess it's fair to say that, again, the fear of having you withdraw, is really, there isn't a need for it. It isn't really back base, because you're always there, we're always there and ready, we're just not having to keep a file open. I imagine that if someone says, Okay, I'd like you to, you know, be my client and still be the person who gets served and all that, there is a costs involved in keeping a file open.

Lewis Landerholm  
I mean, just from the standpoint that they're, you know, maybe at the beginning, over the course of the years, you know, there's less of a-- there's not a lot of management that has to happen, obviously. But it does allow for, you know, if we get served or something then we would bill for that. The other component of if we withdraw, you know, doesn't mean that we're still not billing for you know, for work that is being done. If people are calling to ask questions because we're still doing, you know sort of case wrap up and tidy things up, and there's always questions that come up, and it doesn't mean that we don't want to work for our clients at all, we want to continue that relationship. We also know that clients want to move on and want to be able to, you know, stop talking to their attorneys at times as well. So we don't, you know, force the issue, we want to be available, when needed, but not necessarily continue to manage a case when things have wrapped up and everything's been, you know, archived and files taken care of the way they need to.

Steve Altishin  
I love it. Final words, or anything you would like to say, or think someone would like to hear that they should just keep in their head when they see the filing come through that we have withdrawn, we have withdrawn from that case, just something to keep in their head to remember? 

Lewis Landerholm  
Well I mean, the easiest thing is if they if you have questions just reach out. That's always the easiest way to operate. As far as that withdrawal itself is just, again, remember, this is something that the court needs us to do, or you know that's helpful in the court process. So that way, we're not just sitting there as attorneys of record. You know, there can be situations where the state is moving for a modification of child support. And they have to reach out and make sure that the attorney of record is either actually the attorney of record or no longer the attorney of record. And so administratively, it just cleans things up. And it just gives everybody the information that, as to related to this case, in the court record, they don't have to reach out to us as their attorney directly, they can reach out directly to the client. And therefore client has the ability to decide what they want to do at that point.

Steve Altishin  
I love it. Well, thanks, Lewis, for sitting down today to talk with us about this. It's something that it's kind of a mysterious thing going on. People don't really understand what that means. And by kind of talking about what it really means and the process of it, I think that's incredibly valuable information for people to have and understand. So thanks for joining us again today.

Lewis Landerholm  
Yeah, happy to do it. Thanks a lot, Steve.

Steve Altishin  
I love it. And everyone else. Thank you for joining. Until next time, stay safe, stay happy, be well, and remember, if you have any questions about any of this, you can contact us and we will get you connected with one of our attorneys. So until next time, be well.

Outro:
This has been Modern Family Matters, a legal podcast focusing on providing real answers and direction for individuals and families. Our podcast is sponsored by Pacific Cascade Legal, serving families in Oregon and Washington. If you are in need of legal counsel or have additional questions about a family law matter important to you, please visit our websites at pacificcascadelegal.com or pacificcascadefamilylaw.com. You can also call our headquarters at (503) 227-0200 to schedule a case evaluation with one of our seasoned attorneys. Modern Family Matters, advocating for your better tomorrow and offering legal solutions important to the modern family.