The first time I read Code of Civil Procedure section 473(b) and the practice guides about it, it horrified me. There I was, a very young lawyer at a BigLaw firm, reading that the court must grant relief from a default if the attorney swears by affidavit that the default was due to the mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect of the attorney. I thought that surely, from time to time, some attorney has relied on this provision, admitting fault, only to have the court deny relief because the relief sought did not fall within the mandatory provision of section 473(b). Shudder. But I never read about that actually happening until…