7 Dos and Don'ts of Dealing With Unrepresented Tenants

  

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by William Burns

The Rule

R.P.C. 4.3. Dealing with Unrepresented Persons

In dealing on behalf of a client with a person who is not represented by counsel, a lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer is disinterested. When the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the unrepresented person misunderstands the lawyer’s role in the matter, the lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to correct the misunderstanding. The lawyer shall not give legal advice to the unrepresented person, other than the advice to secure counsel, if the lawyer knows or reasonably should know that the interests of such a person are or have a reasonable possibility of being in conflict with the interests of the client.

7 Dos and Don'ts When Negotiating With A Pro-Se Tenant In Court

1. Remember, parties who have been given limited representation by another lawyer are consider pro-se and Rule 4.3 applies to them.

2. Landlord’s attorney should right away tell the pro-se tenant that he represents the landlord and where necessary that his interests are different and that the tenant may want to seek his own counsel.

3. Landlord’s attorney cannot give legal advice to a pro-se tenant, but he can negotiate with him and in the process, he can give his opinion about what he thinks will be a likely outcome if a settlement is not reached and can talk about the pros and cons of a settlement offer.

4. Always be courteous and respectful with the pro-se tenant. A good way to deal with an angry aggressive tenant is to not react in the same manner, but try to “kill them with kindness”.

5. Listen carefully to what the tenant is saying, he may give you information that helps your case or that shows that he is right and there are major flaws in the landlord’s case and you are happy that you found that out.

6. Make sure that the pro-se tenant clearly understand the terms of any agreement that you make with them; if there is a misunderstanding or if they think they have been misled, they will probably go back later to the Judge and try to undo the agreement.

7. Consider offering concessions to pro-se tenants that make them happy. It is often better to give in some and settle for less, than having to go through the time and expense of a trial and the trouble of trying to collect on the full amount.