United States District Court

Northern District Of Illinois

Local Rules

LR83.56.1. Accepting Appointments

A lawyer shall not seek to avoid or to resign from appointment by a tribunal to represent a person except for good cause.

Committee Comment. General. A lawyer ordinarily is not obliged to accept a client whose character or cause the lawyer regards as repugnant. The lawyer’s freedom to select clients is, however, qualified. As LR83.11(g) reflects (though it is applicable only to members of the trial bar), all lawyers have a responsibility to assist in providing pro bono publico service. An individual lawyer fulfills this responsibility by accepting a fair share of unpopular matters or indigent or unpopular clients.

Appointed Counsel. LR83.38 provides guidance to the lawyer seeking relief from appointment.

An appointed lawyer has the same obligations to the client as retained counsel, including the obligations of loyalty and confidentiality, and is subject to the same limitations on the client-lawyer relationship, such as the obligation to refrain from assisting the client in violation of the rules.