For the past eight or nine years, I have done title examines for Land Court. Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to receive a letter from Land Court informing me that I’ve been approved as one of its guardians ad litem (GAL).
A guardian ad litem, according to Black’s Law Dictionary, is
a lawyer, appointed by the court to appear in a lawsuit on behalf of an incompetent or minor party.
In Latin, “ad litem” translates to “for the suit.” Thus, a GAL is a guardian appointed to a minor/incompetent for a lawsuit to protect that person’s best interests. It is not, however, the same as a court-appointed lawyer who is assigned to actively represent a minor/incompetent litigant.