Can I Fire My Lawyer and Represent Myself?

You have the right to handle your own case

Nothing requires you to have a lawyer for a personal injury claim. Plenty of people settle small claims with an insurance company on their own. If you already have a lawyer and want to take over, the steps depend on where the case is.

Before a lawsuit is filed: send your lawyer a short letter ending the representation and asking for your file. Then tell the insurance adjuster in writing that you are no longer represented and that all contact should come to you.

California, after suit is filed: the change is made with the Substitution of Attorney form MC-050, which has a box for “Party is representing self.” If your lawyer will not sign it, a court order is needed under CCP § 284.

Texas, after suit is filed: your lawyer files a motion to withdraw under Rule of Civil Procedure 10. With no new lawyer named, the motion has to list every pending setting and deadline and your contact information, so the court can reach you directly.

Washington, after suit is filed: your lawyer can serve a Notice of Intent to Withdraw under Civil Rule 71, effective at least 10 days later unless someone objects.

Who usually cannot represent themselves

Some people bring injury claims for someone else, and that changes the answer. California’s substitution form warns that a guardian, conservator, trustee, personal representative or guardian ad litem may not act as their own attorney in most cases. That covers a parent suing for an injured child through a guardian ad litem and a family member suing as the personal representative of an estate after a death.

If you are in Texas or Washington and bringing a claim in one of those roles, ask a lawyer before you file anything on your own. Our page on who can file a wrongful death lawsuit explains who brings those claims.

The court will hold you to a lawyer’s rules

Judges are often patient with people who represent themselves, but the rules do not bend for them. A California appeals court put it plainly in Burnete v. La Casa Dana Apartments: a self-represented litigant is “held to the same restrictive rules of procedure as an attorney.” Texas appellate courts say the same, that pro se litigants are held to the same standards as licensed attorneys (Salmeron v. Atascocita Forest Community Association, following the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Mansfield State Bank v. Cohn). Washington courts hold pro se litigants to the same standards as attorneys too (Kozubenko v. Department of Labor & Industries, following In re Marriage of Olson).

In a lawsuit, that means you answer discovery on time, follow the rules of evidence, get expert testimony where the law requires it, and meet every filing deadline. Missing one can cost you evidence, money in sanctions or the whole case.

Who will be on the other side

Before a lawsuit, you deal with an insurance adjuster. Adjusters handle claims every day. They are paid by the insurer, they know what similar claims settled for, and they know which medical records and gaps in treatment lower a claim’s value. Some are fair. None of them work for you.

After a lawsuit is filed, you deal with defense counsel hired by the insurer. California rule of professional conduct 4.3 says a lawyer talking with an unrepresented person whose interests conflict with the lawyer’s client may not give that person legal advice, other than advice to get a lawyer. So the defense lawyer can be polite and helpful about scheduling, but cannot tell you whether an offer is fair or whether you should agree to a defense medical exam on their terms.

You will also be the one sitting across from them at your deposition, and the one responding to their written questions and motions.

Where self-handled injury claims tend to go wrong

• Settling before treatment is done, then learning you need surgery the release does not cover
• Giving a recorded statement that gets used later to argue you were partly at fault
• Not knowing about your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, or medical payments coverage
• Paying back a health plan, hospital or Medicare lien out of a settlement that was too small to cover it
• Missing a short deadline to file a claim against a city, county or state agency
• Needing a medical expert to prove the crash caused the injury and not having one
• Signing a release that also gives up claims against other people involved

The release point deserves its own warning. Once you sign a settlement release and the case settles, it is generally over for good. A lawyer you hire afterward, including us, cannot undo it.

If you decide to go it alone

If you choose to handle the claim yourself, a few habits protect you. Get your complete file from your former lawyer first, since it holds the claim number, the insurer’s letters and the records already gathered. Find your filing deadline and put it on your calendar with a reminder months ahead.

• Keep every medical bill and ask each provider for your records directly.
• Read your own auto policy for medical payments and uninsured or underinsured coverage.
• Ask for every offer in writing and take your time answering.
• Do not sign a release until your doctors say your treatment is finished.
• Ask each health plan or hospital that paid your bills, in writing, what it claims from the settlement.

If the defense asks for a defense medical exam, ask for the request in writing and look up the rules in your state before you agree to the terms.

Your old lawyer’s fee does not go away

Some people fire their lawyer to avoid paying a contingency fee. It rarely works that way. In California, under Fracasse v. Brent, a discharged contingency lawyer can claim the reasonable value of the work done, paid from the recovery. Texas can allow the full contract fee if you fire a lawyer without good cause (Mandell & Wright v. Thomas). Washington allows a lien on the recovery for the value of the lawyer’s services under RCW 60.40.010.

If you represent yourself, you will be the one dealing with that claim and with any costs the firm advanced. It does not shrink because there is no new lawyer.

When handling it yourself can make sense, and when to switch instead

Self-representation can be reasonable for a small claim where fault is clear, your injuries healed fully, your medical bills are modest and the insurer is making a fair offer. Many people in that spot do fine.

If your frustration is with your current lawyer, switching may fix it without putting the whole case on your shoulders. Switching to us does not raise your fee: any amount your former lawyer is owed is paid out of our fee rather than added to yours. Costs your old firm advanced are normally repaid from the recovery, as with any case. And you owe us no fees or costs if there is no recovery.

Before you decide, get a free second opinion in English or Spanish. We can tell you what the claim may be worth and what the risks look like with or without a lawyer. Read how switching lawyers works, see whether switching costs more, or contact us at (310) 552-6959, any time.

Sources

1. Judicial Council Form MC-050, Substitution of Attorney—Civil
2. Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 284
3. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule 10)
4. Washington Superior Court Civil Rule 71
5. Burnete v. La Casa Dana Apartments (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 1262
6. Salmeron v. Atascocita Forest Cmty. Ass'n, No. 01-20-00616-CV (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 27, 2021) (mem. op.), citing Mansfield State Bank v. Cohn, 573 S.W.2d 181 (Tex. 1978)
7. Kozubenko v. Dep't of Labor & Indus., No. 35892-5-III (Wash. Ct. App. Feb. 28, 2019) (unpublished), citing In re Marriage of Olson, 69 Wn. App. 621 (1993)
8. California Rules of Professional Conduct (State Bar of California)
9. Fracasse v. Brent (1972) 6 Cal.3d 784 (scocal.stanford.edu)
10. Mandell & Wright v. Thomas, 441 S.W.2d 841 (Tex. 1969)
11. RCW 60.40.010