California Substitution of Counsel: Consent, Motion, and Fees

To change lawyers in a California civil case, you use one of the two routes in Code of Civil Procedure Section 284: a consent-based substitution of attorney, filed on Judicial Council form MC-050 when you and your current lawyer agree, or a noticed motion asking the judge to order the change when you don’t.¹ The statute lets you make the change at any time before or after judgment, whether you are hiring someone new or stepping in to represent yourself.

The Two Paths Under CCP 284

Everything else about the process flows from which of these two paths applies to you.

The first path, CCP 284(1), is consent. If you and your current attorney both agree to the switch, you file a signed substitution form with the court clerk. No hearing. No judge’s approval. It is a filing, not a request.

The second path, CCP 284(2), is a court order. If your attorney will not sign off, or has gone unresponsive, or is the one trying to leave over your objection, the person seeking the change files a motion and the judge decides.¹

Most substitutions are consensual and travel the first path. If yours is cooperative, skip to MC-050. If it isn’t, the motion section below applies.

Consent Substitution With Form MC-050

Form MC-050, “Substitution of Attorney—Civil (Without Court Order),” is the mandatory Judicial Council form.² The same form covers both situations: swapping one attorney for another, or dropping your attorney to represent yourself.³

Signatures depend on where you’re going. Switching to a new lawyer takes three: yours, the outgoing attorney’s, and the incoming attorney’s, each on the consent line confirming agreement to the substitution.² Moving to self-representation takes two: yours and the outgoing attorney’s. Check the case number, the parties’ names, and the court information before you file. Clerks reject filings most often on those basics.

Filing and Serving the Form

Serve the completed form on every other party in the case by mail. The person who mails it fills out the Proof of Service on the back of the MC-050, and both documents go to the clerk together.² The server must be at least 18 and cannot be a party to the case.⁴

Notice to the other side is not a formality. CCP 285 requires written notice of the change to every adverse party, and until that notice goes out, the opposing side is legally entitled to keep dealing with your former attorney as if nothing changed.⁵ A settlement offer or motion delivered to your old attorney before notice is served can still be effective against you.

A properly signed and filed MC-050 takes effect when the clerk files it. No judge needs to review a valid consent substitution, and the court cannot reject one.

Motion to Be Relieved as Counsel

When consent isn’t available, CCP 284(2) requires a formal motion, and California Rules of Court Rule 3.1362 sets out exactly what to file.⁶ Three forms:

MC-051, Notice of Motion and Motion to Be Relieved as Counsel—Civil.
MC-052, Declaration in Support, which must explain in general terms why consent couldn’t be obtained without revealing privileged communications.
MC-053, Proposed Order Granting the motion, which must list every upcoming hearing date and the trial date if one is set.

All three documents are served on the client and on every party who has appeared in the case. If service on the client is by mail, the attorney must file a declaration confirming the mailing address is current, meaning verified within 30 days before filing. The fact that mail to that address has not been returned is not sufficient. No separate memorandum of points and authorities is required with this motion.⁶

How Judges Rule on These Motions

Unlike a consent substitution, this one gives the judge real discretion. The court weighs whether withdrawal would prejudice the client or cause undue delay. In Mandell v. Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal confirmed that discretion must be exercised reasonably, not used to trap an attorney in a case indefinitely.⁷ In practice, courts tend to deny withdrawal when trial is close and the client would be left scrambling, or when the motion looks like a delay tactic. The court can also grant the motion but delay its effective date so the client has time to find a replacement.

When You Can Substitute

CCP 284 permits substitution “at any time before or after judgment.”¹ Consent substitutions have no formal deadline because they take effect on filing. The practical limit is your new attorney’s ability to prepare. A switch weeks before trial puts whoever takes over into a sprint, and opposing counsel will likely argue the change is strategic.

Motions to withdraw face harder scrutiny the closer trial gets. An attorney moving to be relieved ten days out faces a much tougher road than one filing months in advance. The judge’s focus is on whether the client can secure replacement counsel and whether the schedule survives.

What Your Outgoing Attorney Owes You

California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16 governs what happens when the representation ends, and the obligations are more specific than many clients expect.⁸

Your File and Your Money

On termination, the former attorney must promptly release all client materials and property on your request. That means correspondence, pleadings, deposition transcripts, expert reports, exhibits, and physical evidence, paper or electronic. This obligation does not depend on whether you’ve paid the bill. Attorneys sometimes try to withhold files over unpaid invoices, but the rule is explicit: your entitlement to your materials is not conditional on payment.⁸

Any portion of fees or costs you paid in advance that hasn’t been earned or incurred must be refunded. The one exception is a true retainer paid solely to guarantee the attorney’s availability, not to pay for actual work.⁸

Protecting You From Harm

Rule 1.16(d) requires the outgoing attorney to take reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable harm to your case. That includes meeting deadlines that fall during the transition, giving you enough notice to retain new counsel, and cooperating with the incoming attorney.⁸ An attorney who walks out at a critical moment and leaves a client exposed can face State Bar discipline, including suspension.

Attorney Liens and Fee Disputes

If your former attorney worked on contingency or believes their work will contribute to a future recovery, they may assert a charging lien against any eventual settlement or judgment. A charging lien attaches to the proceeds of the case, not to your files. The former attorney must show their work meaningfully contributed to whatever you recover. A retaining lien, which would allow holding files as security for unpaid fees, is heavily restricted in California given the file-release rule described above. If a fee dispute escalates, the State Bar’s fee arbitration program offers a resolution route outside of separate litigation.

Dropping Your Attorney to Represent Yourself

MC-050 covers substituting out your attorney to appear in propria persona, and CCP 285 requires notice to the other side of your appearance in person.³⁵ California courts hold self-represented litigants to the same procedural rules as attorneys. Lack of legal training is not an excuse for missed deadlines or defective filings, and judges do not coach self-represented parties through hearings.⁹

One hard limit: if the client is a corporation or LLC, self-representation is generally not available. Business entities must appear through a licensed attorney under California law, a rule the California Supreme Court established in Merco Construction Engineers, Inc. v. Municipal Court (1978).

Criminal Cases Work Differently

CCP 284 applies in criminal cases too.⁷ If you’ve retained a private criminal defense attorney, the consent process works much the same way. If you have an appointed public defender and want a different one, the court typically treats your request as a Marsden motion, from People v. Marsden, which requires you to explain in a closed hearing why your current appointed counsel is providing inadequate representation. The standard is higher than wanting someone different. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel also makes courts especially cautious about substitutions that would force a continuance.

If You Can’t Afford the Filing Fees

California allows a fee waiver for court costs. Government Code Section 68631 directs courts to grant initial fee waivers to applicants who meet the eligibility standards in Sections 68632 and 68633.¹⁰ Eligibility generally covers people receiving certain public benefits, those with household income below the specified thresholds, and those whose basic living expenses leave them unable to pay. A granted waiver can be ended or modified later if the court determines you no longer qualify.¹¹

1
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 284
2
Judicial Council of California. MC-050 Substitution of Attorney – Civil
3
California Courts. Substitution of Attorney – Civil (Without Court Order)
4
California Courts. Serving Court Papers
5
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 285
6
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.1362 – Motion to Be Relieved as Counsel
7
Justia Law. Mandell v. Superior Court
8
The State Bar of California. California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16 – Declining or Terminating Representation
9
California Courts. Representing Yourself
10
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68631
11
Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court Rule 3.50 – Application of Rules