Special Court Appearances
Rates and General Information
TLS regularly appears in the Humboldt County Superior Court for out of town attorneys and litigants who are unable to be present for Court hearings, depositions, bankruptcy proceedings, and minor criminal infractions (traffic) cases. This is permitted in California as a 'special appearance.' TLS agrees to represent you for a specific date and time, on a specific matter, with temporary authority to represent you or your clients in Court.
TLS charges the following rates:
- Case Management Conferences
- Motions
- Depositions
- Bankruptcy
Travel outside of Humboldt County; actual cost or standard mileage plus $50.00 per hour travel time.
Over ten pages fax per assignment; $.25 each page over ten pages.
Requesting an Appearance and Obtaining Results
To request an appearance:
- Please call or e-mail TLS with the case number, the date, time, department, and location of the hearing, and instructions.
- E-mail, fax, or upload additional documents after receiving confirmation of the appearance. If TLS is unavailable, TLS will provide you with a referral to other attorneys who regularly make special appearances in Humboldt County, or, a referral to legal services firms who assign special appearance attorneys in Humboldt County.
On the same day of the hearing, TLS will fax (or e-mail at your option) an appearance results form describing the outcome of the hearing, the next court date, rulings and other instructions provided by the Court.
California law requires that a written association of counsel be filed for an attorney who has not appeared in an action to represent a client. Failure to submit an association of counsel can result in sanctions and it is good practice to file a document clearly stating that TLS is appearing only for the limited purpose of a specific proceeding. You may use your own form, or, download an Association of Counsel form in PDF format with form fields for you to fill in.
Affiliate Service Bureaus
TLS has an existing business relationship with the following special appearance firms:
- Professional Appearance Group
- Robert L. Ray and Associates
- Alter Ego Appearance Service
- Hoffman and Pomerantz
- Ad Hoc Attorney Services
- Law Office of Wm. Gregory Polster
- Lawyers on Call
- California Apearance Services