Six of Iowa's eight judicial districts have local rules to which attorneys need to adhere. The two holdouts have been the 4th (which includes Pottawattamie County) and 6th judicial districts.
On July 27, the 6th judicial district (covering Benton, Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Linn, and Tama counties) joined the majority and adopted its first local rules. There are four of them.
Rule 1 states that unresisted motions must (a) contain the word "unresisted" in the caption; (b) specifically name the attorneys who do not resist; and (c) be accompanied by a proposed order.
Rule 2 states: "All Motions for Continuance, Motions to Withdraw, Motions to Extend Deadlines and Motions to Exceed Fee Guidelines shall be accompanied by a proposed Order."
Rules 1 and 2 turn a good practice -- proposed orders on certain types of motions -- into a mandatory practice.
Rule 3 states that the certificate of service in motions to withdraw as counsel must certify a service copy was sent to the client, unless the client's written consent to the withdrawal is attached to the motion.
Rule 4 mandates the form for orders allowing counsel to withdraw in civil cases in which the withdrawing attorney has not yet been replaced by another attorney who has filed an appearance. (Download the form Order to Withdraw.)
Here is an unsigned copy of Supervisory Order 2009-7 adopting the rules. Signed and file-stamped copies of the order may be obtained from the Linn County Clerk's office. The rules become effective August 26.
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