Legal Question in Legal Ethics in New York

Re: Federal Practice Requirements

A lawyer must be individually admitted to practice in each United States District Court. There is no blanket admission.

A lawyer need not be a member of the bar of the state in which the USDC is located, but he must be admitted to that particular USDC.

Admission is not difficult, and can be pro hoc vice or permanent so long as the applicant is a member in good standing of at least one state bar association.

Re: Federal Practice Requirements

Each federal district court has its own local rules regarding admission to practice before that court. Typically, you can be fully admitted before that particular district court by making certain submissions, having a local attorney move to have you admitted and paying certain fees. You can also get admitted pro hac vice, which means for a particular case on which you have pending before the court rather than a general admission.

The admissions procedure typically requires that you be admitted to practice in some state not necessarily the state in which the federal district court is located. However, most of the federal districts require that counsel appearing in an action have a bone fide office located within the district itself -- a "local counsel" requirement. Thus, if you are located out-of-state, the local federal district court may require you to retain local counsel located within the district of the court.

-- Kenneth J. Ashman; Ashman & Griffin, LLC; [email protected]