Conn. Practice Book § 3-9 (2026)

Sec. 3-9. Withdrawal of Appearance; Dura- tion of Appearance (a) An attorney or party whose appearance has been filed shall be deemed to have withdrawn such appearance upon the filing of a new appear- ance that is stated to be in place of the appear- ance on file in accordance with Section 3-8. Appropriate entries shall be made in the court file. An attorney or party whose appearance is deemed to have been withdrawn may file an appearance for the limited purpose of filing an objection to the in place of appearance at any time. (b) An attorney may withdraw his or her appear- ance for a party or parties in any action after the appearance of other counsel representing the same party or parties has been entered. An appli- cation for withdrawal in accordance with this sub- section shall state that such an appearance has been entered and that such party or parties are being represented by such other counsel at the time of the application. Such an application may be granted by the clerk as of course, if such an appearance by other counsel has been entered. (c) In addition to the grounds set forth in subsec- tions (a), (b), and (d), a lawyer who represents a party or parties on a limited basis in accordance with Section 3-8 (b) and has completed his or her representation as defined in the limited appear- ance, shall file a certificate of completion of limited appearance on Judicial Branch form JD-CL-122. The certificate shall constitute a full withdrawal of a limited appearance. Copies of the certificate must be served in accordance with Sections 10- 12 through 10-17 on the client, and all attorneys and self-represented parties of record. (d) All appearances of counsel shall be deemed to have been withdrawn 180 days after the entry of judgment in any action seeking a dissolution of marriage or civil union, annulment, or legal sep- aration, provided no appeal shall have been taken. In the event of an appeal or the filing of a motion to open a judgment within such 180 days, all appearances of counsel shall be deemed to

© Copyrighted by the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut SUPERIOR COURT—GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 3-10 have been withdrawn after final judgment on such appeal or motion or within 180 days after the entry of the original judgment, whichever is later. Noth- ing herein shall preclude or prevent any attorney from filing a motion to withdraw with leave of the court during that period subsequent to the entry of judgment. In the absence of a specific withdrawal, counsel will continue of record for all postjudg- ment purposes until 180 days have elapsed from the entry of judgment or, in the event an appeal or a motion to open a judgment is filed within such 180 day period, until final judgment on that appeal or determination of that motion, whichever is later. (e) Except as provided in subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d), no attorney shall withdraw his or her appearance in any civil, criminal, family, juvenile or other matter after it has been entered upon the record of the court without the leave of the court. (f) All appearances in juvenile matters shall be deemed to continue during the period of delin- quency probation supervision or probation super- vision with residential placement, family with service needs supervision, any commitment to the Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families pursuant to General Statutes § 46b-129 or protective supervision. An attorney appointed by the chief public defender to represent a parent in a pending neglect or uncared for proceeding shall continue to represent the parent for any sub- sequent petition to terminate parental rights if the attorney remains under contract to the Office of the Chief Public Defender to represent parties in child protection matters, the parent appears at the first hearing on the termination petition and qualifies for appointed counsel, unless the attor- ney files a motion to withdraw pursuant to Section 3-10 that is granted by the judicial authority or the parent requests a new attorney. The attorney shall represent the client in connection with appeals, subject to Section 35a-20 or 35a-20A, and with motions for review of permanency plans, revoca- tions or postjudgment motions and shall have access to any documents filed in court. The attor- ney for the child shall continue to represent the child in all proceedings relating to the child, includ- ing termination of parental rights and during the period until final adoption following termination of parental rights. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 77.) (Amended June 26, 2006, to take effect Jan. 1, 2007; amended June 30, 2008, to take effect Jan. 1, 2009; amended June 21, 2010, to take effect Jan. 1, 2011; amended June 15, 2012, to take effect Jan. 1, 2013; amended June 14, 2013, to take effect Oct. 1, 2013; amended June 24, 2016, to take effect Jan. 1, 2017; amended June 13, 2019, to take effect Jan. 1, 2020; amended June 10, 2022, to take effect Jan. 1, 2023.) 173 Sec. 3-10. Motion To Withdraw Appearance (a) No motion for withdrawal of appearance shall be granted unless good cause is shown and until the judicial authority is satisfied that reason- able notice has been given to other attorneys of record and that the party represented by the attor- ney was served with the motion and the notice required by this section or that the attorney has made reasonable efforts to serve such party. All motions to withdraw appearance shall be set down for argument and when the attorney files such motion, he or she shall obtain such argument date from the clerk. (b) In civil and family cases, a motion to with- draw shall include the last known address of any party as to whom the attorney seeks to withdraw his or her appearance and shall have attached to it a notice to such party advising of the following: (1) the attorney is filing a motion which seeks the court’s permission to no longer represent the party in the case; (2) the date and time the motion will be heard and whether such hearing will be con- ducted in person or remotely. If the hearing is conducted remotely, the attorney will provide the party with any information necessary to access the hearing remotely; (3) the party may appear in person on that date and address the court con- cerning the motion if the hearing will be conducted in person and may appear remotely on that date and address the court concerning the motion if the hearing will be conducted remotely; (4) if the motion to withdraw is granted, the party should either obtain another attorney or file an appear- ance on his or her own behalf with the court; and (5) if the party does neither, the party will not receive notice of court proceedings in the case and a nonsuit or default judgment may be ren- dered against such party. If the hearing has not been scheduled at the time that the attorney files and serves the motion and notice, the attorney shall serve the party with a revised notice that provides the information required by subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection. (c) In criminal and juvenile matters, the motion to withdraw shall comply with subsections (b) (1), (2) and (3) of this section and the client shall also be advised by the attorney that if the motion to withdraw is granted the client should request court appointed counsel, obtain another attorney or file an appearance on his or her own behalf with the court and be further advised that if none is done, there may be no further notice of proceeding and the court may act. (d) In addition to the above, each motion to with- draw appearance and each notice to the party or parties who are the subject of the motion shall

© Copyrighted by the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut SUPERIOR COURT—GENERAL PROVISIONS