Details: Dealing with a pro se opposing party is very common in legal aid practice.  It can be tricky for attorneys to ethically navigate dealing with a pro se opposing party in case communications, negotiations, and discovery disputes.  When an opposing party is difficult to work with, it makes it even harder to navigate these situations. This training will provide an overview of the applicable rules of professional responsibility and best practices attorneys should follow when dealing with pro se opposing parties.  It will also review several hypothetical scenarios common in legal aid practice and go over how attorneys could respond to such situations.

Presenters: Caitlin Guilford joined the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility as an Assistant Director in April 2022. Caitlin previously worked as a supervising attorney in the housing and consumer units at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) in the St. Paul Office.  Before that, she practiced as a consumer litigator specializing in foreclosure litigation at Drewes Law, PLLC.  Caitlin received her JD from Georgie Washington University Law School and her BA from Cornell University.

Joe Ambroson is an Assistant Director in the OLPR, where he’s worked for over three years.  He previously worked as a family law attorney at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS).  He was also appointed as a member of the Second Judicial District Family Violence Coordinating Council and helped in drafting the branch’s latest guide for handling orders for protection and harassment restraining orders.  He previously attended William Mitchell Law School and Grinnell College.

Location: Zoom

CLE: 1 hour of Ethics CLE Credit to be applied for.

This training is free.