Also known as: scope of the representation · representation scope
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The parameters of the legal services a lawyer agrees to perform for a client. Those parameters are fixed by the engagement agreement between lawyer and client and may be narrowed when the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent.
Serena Soto retained Sebastian Santos to review only the defamation provisions in her book manuscript. The signed retainer letter stated that Santos would provide no advice on publishing contracts or source protection. When Soto later emailed questions about contract terms, Santos declined and referred her to other counsel. The limitation remained enforceable because it was reasonable and Soto had given informed consent at the outset.
Santiago Sanchez pleaded guilty to a drug offense after his lawyer failed to warn him that conviction would trigger automatic deportation. Sanchez later claimed ineffective assistance because the lawyer treated deportation as outside the representation. The court held that the scope of representation in a criminal case includes advice on such consequences, so the lawyer's omission fell below the required standard.
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A lawyer may limit the scope if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent. The agreement should be documented in writing before or shortly after the representation begins. Subsequent conduct that blurs the stated boundaries can undermine the limitation even if the original agreement was clear.
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The lawyer must decline to provide the additional advice or must obtain new informed consent to expand the scope. Continuing to answer questions on excluded topics without clarification risks a finding that the original limitation is no longer reasonable or that consent was not truly informed.
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Yes. The scope of constitutionally required assistance includes advice on deportation consequences that are clear under immigration law. Failure to provide that advice can constitute ineffective assistance even though deportation is formally a civil consequence.
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No formal writing is required to form the attorney-client relationship, but the scope and fee arrangement should be communicated to the client in writing before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation. A writing helps prove that any limitation was reasonable and that the client gave informed consent.
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…at 483–484 (citing Commonwealth v. Fuartado , 170 S. W. 3d 384 (2005)). In its view, “collateral consequences are outside the scope of representation required by the Sixth Amendment,” and, therefore, the “failure of defense counsel to advise the defendant of possible deportation consequences is not cognizable as a claim for ineffective…