Uniform Rules § 207.35

Absence of attorney during trial · as in force on May 31, 2026

All trial counsel shall remain in attendance at all stages of the trial until the jury retires to deliberate unless excused by the Surrogate. Any counsel not present during the jury deliberation, further requests to charge, or report of the jury verdict shall be deemed to stipulate that the court may proceed in his or her absence and to waive any irregularity in proceedings taken in his or her absence. The court may permit trial counsel to leave, provided that counsel remain in telephone contact with the court.

Official sourcehttps://www.nycourts.gov/rules/part-207-uniform-rules-surrogates-court

In plain English

This rule requires trial lawyers to stay in court during a jury trial.

All trial counsel shall remain at every stage of the trial until the jury retires to deliberate, unless excused by the Surrogate. ★
Counsel not present during jury deliberation, further requests to charge, or the report of the verdict is deemed to stipulate that the court may proceed without them and to waive any irregularity in what happens in their absence. ★
The court may let trial counsel leave, provided counsel stays in telephone contact with the court.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Surrogate's Court in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Surrogate's Court: Court Rules & the EPTL; Volume 5 — Your Career: Surrogate's Court in Plain English.