I am an attorney who does a fair amount of personal injury litigation. I noticed the plaintiff’s attorney took the verification on answers to new matter and also the verification on the complaint. Is that ethical?
The answer to the question is that it may not be ethical, but, more importantly, it may not be a wise practice. Sometimes a lawyer, because of deadlines and the client’s unavailability, whether the client is in prison or away on a trip, has to take the verification. But the lawyer certainly should have the client’s permission to do so, and then substitute the client’s verification as soon as the client is available. That can be done by a simple praecipe to substitute. When the lawyer signs the verification, he or she should specifically put in the verification that the client is not available and that the lawyer has the client’s consent to do this pending the client substituting his or her verification.
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