Supreme Court of Missouri
en banc

In re:

Adoption of a new Court Operating Rule 25, entitled “Services by Court Clerks and Staff In Family Law Cases.”


1.  It is ordered that effective July 1, 2007, Court Operating Rule 25 be and the same is hereby adopted to read as follows:

COURT OPERATING RULE 25
SERVICES BY COURT CLERKS AND STAFF IN FAMILY LAW CASES

(a) Court clerks and court staff may provide the following services to self-represented litigants to achieve fair and efficient resolution of their family law case.  The services specified in this Court Operating Rule 25, when delivered by a court clerk or court staff, do not constitute legal advice.  

(b) Rendering legal advice is not authorized for any court clerk or court staff member.  Court clerks and court staff members shall not lead any litigant to believe that they represent the litigant as a lawyer in any capacity, nor shall they induce the public to rely upon them for legal advice.

(c) Notwithstanding ethics rules that govern legal professionals, there is no conflict of interest in providing the following services to all litigants.  Court clerks and court staff may:

(1) Encourage self-represented litigants to be informed about their legal rights;

(2) Provide information about available pro bono legal services, low cost legal services, legal aid programs, and lawyer referral services;

(3) Provide docketed case information for the litigant’s case;

(4) Provide information about available approved forms, without providing advice or recommendation as to any specific course of action;

(5) Provide approved forms and approved instructions on how to complete the forms;

(6) Answer questions about completion of blanks on approved forms, without recommending specific content or phrasing for a pleading, specific types of claims or arguments to assert in pleadings, or recommend objections to pleadings;

(7) Record information provided by a self-represented litigant on approved form when a litigant has limited literacy, physical infirmity, or other disabilities to the extent required by the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(8) Provide definitions of commonly used terms, orally or in writing, without advising whether or not a particular definition is applicable to the self-represented litigant’s situation;

(9) Provide general information about local court operations and facilitate the setting of hearings;

(10) Provide information about required parent and/or child education courses and mediation; and

(11) Provide information about community services and other resources.

(d) Each court clerk shall conspicuously post the following notice describing services the court clerks and court staff may and may not provide to self-represented litigants.  A copy of the notice shall be provided to any person on request.

2.  It is ordered that notice of this order be published in the Journal of The Missouri Bar.

3.  It is ordered that this order be published in the South Western Reporter.

4.  The state courts administrator shall provide copies of this order to each presiding circuit judge and circuit clerk and such other persons as the administrator deems appropriate.


Day – to – Day

_________________________
MICHAEL A. WOLFF
Chief Justice