Rule 16?

Hello. I am pro se in the custody battle that I have been facing.
It has been extremely difficult as my ex-boyfriend harrasses me, my family and now calling friends, etc. He was lying to his attorney about the true happenings of what transpired during conversations and from the very beginning will use anything to threaten me to give him joint custody or a lot of innocent people will get hurt… etc.
He had her(his atty) threaten me with contempt for not discussing daycare and a vacation until I pointed out the truth- that we had shared many conversations about both of these and retorted back that I would file contempt on him for #1 - No good faith effort in or after mediation to cooperate or compromise on anything (specified in order by judge) and #2 him disparaging me in front of our daughter on many attempts ( also in order)- both of which I have proof.
I went to the police station however the threats and comments don’t quite warrant a restraining order however my ex has me in tears many days. :frowning:
My question is this…I received a motion in the mail today stating: Motion to Withdrawl as Counsel of Record. It says…Now comes counsel for defendant pursuant to RULE 16 of the rules of practice for superior and district court and moves the court for an order allowing the undersigned counsel and the law firm of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX to be removed as the attorneys of record in this cause, for good cause shown. Counsel’s withdrawl as attorney of record shall not be the sole basis for a continuance of any hearing in this matter.
Signed.
I tried to look up Rule 16 online.No luck. I want to know what the rule is. Did she quit him bc he is not paying her or did he do something that caused her to quit him or is that just the verbiage that an attorney uses as a blanket stmt. when they are no longer working with a client? Please advise…thank you so much.

There is a wealth of information here, General Statute Chapters - North Carolina General Assembly, which will probably overwhelm you…rule 16 is not the same rule under Section 1A-Rules for general Procedure…if you are a young woman with kids you need to go to a county DSS branch for help. They can also give you acess to Legal Aid. It sounds like his attorney bailed on him, which is a good thing for you…for the moment. If he threatened you with “a whole lot of people could get hurt” the magistrate will take that very, very seriously…and you should too. Don’t rely on past trust, it’s another story now that the legal system is involved. Use it to protect yourself and your kids but if you do not tell the truth, eventually it could mean the Court will not support you…take your kids, etc. If you are a good person getting hurt, a good female getting hurt, they will help you. Get protection and then get secure about your kids.

The rule allows counsel to be released as attorney of record, the attorney, nor your ex have to tell you the reason the attorney is getting out of the case. It could be that your ex fired the attorney, could not pay the attorney, or because the relationship between the two of them broke down.