In Louisiana, family court practices vary from parish to parish. Hearing Officer procedures, in particular, often vary significantly.1 A court’s local rules regarding Hearing Officers and any other jurisdiction-specific procedures can be found on the court’s website or on the Louisiana Supreme Court’s website, where each jurisdiction has inserted its local rules.2

Attorneys and self-represented litigants need to know their local court rules and practices. This manual focuses on the common rules and procedures for family court cases. It does not discuss the unique rules or practices that a particular court may use. For those rules, be sure to have a working knowledge if you are in an unfamiliar jurisdiction because not to do so is a professional misstep that may subject you to ethical oversight.

• 1For more information on Hearing Officers, see Section 1.2.
• 2These rules are available at the website of the Louisiana Supreme Court and are currently found here.

Attorneys who handle family law cases know that they can drag on for years. Thus, you may want to think about modifying your retainer to include a limited scope of representation. This practice is becoming more common, even in larger firms. 

The scope of representation can be limited to immediate issues by using verbiage such as: “You agree that the scope of this representation is limited to the topics of obtaining a divorce, an initial custody decree, and the initial child support award. Issues such as community property allocations, spousal support, injunctions, or any other matter not contained in this retainer are not included in this representation. You are encouraged to seek outside legal advice if these are issues relating to your case.” 

You should also include your withdrawal language in your prayer, the proposed order, and any orders (or recommendations if your matter will be heard by a Hearing Officer) that result from the resolution of the case.

The plague of domestic violence in our society requires that family law practitioners consider domestic violence in all aspects of their representation. An attorney who handles family law cases should know how to identify domestic violence, the special laws that apply to domestic violence cases, and the basic principles of “safe lawyering” in domestic violence cases.1

A complete treatment of Louisiana’s laws surrounding domestic violence is found in the chapter of this manual devoted exclusively to that topic.2 Portions of this law are also discussed in this chapter where relevant.

• 1For an excellent article on how to stay safe while representing a family law case containing domestic violence, see Pamela Cross, How Lawyers Can Stay Safe in Family Violence Cases, Luke’s Place.
• 2See this manual’s chapter on representing survivors of domestic violence.

Most legal services or pro bono clients cannot pay court costs.1 In some Louisiana parishes, the costs for a simple divorce, without any ancillary matters, can be more than $1,000 if a curator must be appointed for an absentee spouse. Fortunately, an indigent’s right to proceed without prepaying costs (filing fees) is protected by La. C.C.P. arts. 5181–5188. Common unlawful actions against pauper clients in family law matters include: 

• Preventing a pauper client from filing a new suit or pleading because of unpaid court costs2  
• Splitting court costs even though the pauper client prevailed3
• Denying a pauper client a certified copy of the divorce judgment4
• Charging a pauper client in a domestic violence case for a protective order or taxing her with the costs5
• Charging curator fees to a pauper client6
• Holding a client in contempt of court or assessing penalties for failure to pay costs when client lacks financial ability to pay7
• Using the provision that attorney fees and court costs incurred before a divorce is granted are community obligations to cast the pauper client with costs8

Because it is not uncommon for courts to try to take such actions, be prepared to address the issue with the court and to point the judge to the proper statutes and caselaw.

• 1For a more extensive discussion, see this manual’s chapter on IFP procedures.
• 2See Hawkins v. Jennings, 97-1291 (La. App. 3 Cir. 3/6/98), 709 So. 2d 292.
• 3Holloway v. Holloway, 2000-0173 (La. App. 3 Cir. 6/6/01), 787 So. 2d 600.
• 4See Yarls v. Yarls, 2009-1173 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1/27/10), 30 So. 3d 1101; Carline v. Carline, 93-1505 (La. App. 1 Cir. 10/7/94), 644 So. 2d 835.
• 5See Valius v. Valius, 2010-0870 (La. App. 4 Cir. 12/8/10), 53 So. 3d 655; Jimenez v. Jimenez, 05-645 (La. App. 5 Cir. 1/31/06), 922 So. 2d 672.
• 6See Jones v. Jones, 297 So. 2d 198 (La. 1974).
• 7See La. R.S. 13:4206.
• 8See La. C.C. art. 2362.1(A); Malone v. Malone, 257 So. 2d 397 (La. 1972). Such costs and attorney fees can only be satisfied from community assets.