ATTORNEYS
(a) Admission to the Bar of this Court. Admission to and continuing
membership in the Bar of this Court are limited to attorneys who are active members in
good standing of the State Bar of California.
(1) Petition for Admission. Each applicant for admission shall present
to the Clerk an affidavit petitioning for admission, stating both residence and office
addresses, the courts in which the applicant has been admitted to practice, the respective
dates of admissions to those courts, whether the applicant is active and in good standing
in each, and whether the applicant has been or is being subjected to any disciplinary
proceedings. Forms will be furnished by the Clerk and shall be available on the Court's
website.
(2) Proof of Bar Membership. The petition shall be accompanied by a
certificate of standing from the State Bar of California or a printout from the State Bar of
California website that provides that the applicant is an active member of the State Bar of
California and shall include the State Bar number.
(3) Oath and Prescribed Fee. Upon qualification the applicant may be
admitted, upon oral motion or without appearing, by signing the prescribed oath and
paying the prescribed fee, together with any required assessment, which the Clerk shall
place as directed by law with any excess credited to the Court's Nonappropriated Fund.
(b) Practice in this Court. Except as otherwise provided herein, only
members of the Bar of this Court shall practice in this Court.
(1) Attorneys for the United States. An attorney who is not eligible for
admission under (a), but who is a member in good standing of and eligible to practice
before, the Bar of any United States Court or of the highest Court of any State, or of any
Territory or Insular Possession of the United States, may practice in this Court in any
matter in which the attorney is employed or retained by the United States or its agencies.
Attorneys so permitted to practice in this Court are subject to the jurisdiction of this Court
with respect to their conduct to the same extent as members of the Bar of this Court.
(2) Attorneys Pro Hac Vice. An attorney who is a member in good
standing of, and eligible to practice before, the Bar of any United States Court or of the
highest Court of any State, or of any Territory or Insular Possession of the United States,
and who has been retained to appear in this Court may, upon application and in the
discretion of the Court, be permitted to appear and participate in a particular case. Unless
authorized by the Constitution of the United States or an Act of Congress, an attorney is
not eligible to practice pursuant to (b)(2) if any one or more of the following apply: (i) the
attorney resides in California, (ii) the attorney is regularly employed in California, or (iii)
the attorney is regularly engaged in professional activities in California.
(i) Application. The pro hac vice application shall be
electronically presented to the Clerk and shall state under penalty of perjury (i) the
attorney's residence and office addresses, (ii) by what courts the attorney has been
admitted to practice and the dates of admissions, (iii) a certificate of good standing from
the court in the attorney’s state of primary practice, (iv) that the attorney is not currently
suspended or disbarred in any court, and (v) if the attorney has concurrently or within
the year preceding the current application made any other pro hac vice applications to
this Court, the title and number of each action in which such application was made, the
date of each application, and whether each application was granted.
(ii) Designee. The attorney shall also designate in the
application a member of the Bar of this Court with whom the Court and opposing counsel
may readily communicate regarding that attorney's conduct of the action and upon whom
service shall be made. The attorney shall submit with such application the name,
address, telephone number, and consent of such designee.
(iii) Prescribed Fee. The pro hac vice application shall also be
accompanied by payment to the Clerk of any prescribed fee, together with any required
assessment which the Clerk shall place as directed by law with any excess credited to
the Court's Nonappropriated Fund. If the pro hac vice application is denied, the Court
may refund any or all of the fee or assessment paid by the attorney.
(iv) Subject to Jurisdiction. If the application is granted, the
attorney is subject to the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to conduct to the same
extent as a member of the Bar of this Court.
(3) Certified Students. See L.R. 181.
(4) Designated Officers, Agents or Employees.
(A) An officer, agent or employee of a federal agency or
department may practice before the Magistrate Judges on criminal matters in this Court,
whether or not that officer, agent, or employee is an attorney, if that officer, agent or
employee:
(i) has been assigned by the employing federal agency or
department to appear as a prosecutor on its behalf;
(ii) has received four or more hours training from the
United States Attorney's Office in the preceding twenty-four (24) months;
(iii) has filed a designation in accordance with (B); and
(iv) is supervised by the United States Attorney's Office.
Supervision by the United States Attorney's Office means that employees of that Office
are available to answer questions of any such officer, agent, or employee.
(B) Designations shall be filed on a form provided by the Clerk
that shall include a verification that the officer, agent, or employee has satisfied the
requirements of this Rule. A designation is effective for twenty-four (24) months. The
officer, agent, or employee shall file the designation either in Fresno, if the officer, agent,
or employee anticipates appearing only before Magistrate Judges at locations in the
counties specifically enumerated in L.R. 120(b), or in Sacramento in all other
circumstances. After filing the designation in any calendar year, the officer, agent, or
employee shall not appear before any particular Magistrate Judge without providing a
copy of the designation to that Magistrate Judge.
(C) Officers, agents and employees so permitted to practice in this
Court are subject to the jurisdiction of this Court with respect to their conduct to the same
extent as members of the Bar of this Court.
(5) RIHC and RLSA Attorneys. An attorney who is currently
designated by the State Bar of California as Registered In-House Counsel (RIHC) or as
a Registered Legal Services Attorney (RLSA) may petition the Court to practice by
completing the petition for admission, supplying the proof of bar membership, and
providing the oath and prescribed fee under (a). Any attorney allowed to practice in the
Eastern District of California under this section may only practice as long as the attorney
is designated as an RIHC or RLSA by the State Bar of California.
(c) Notice of Change in Status. An attorney who is a member of the Bar of
this Court or who has been permitted to practice in this Court under (b) shall promptly
notify the Court of any change in status in any other jurisdiction that would make the
attorney ineligible for membership in the Bar of this Court or ineligible to practice in this
Court. In the event an attorney appearing in this Court under (b) is no longer eligible to
practice in any other jurisdiction by reason of suspension for nonpayment of fees or
enrollment as an inactive member, the attorney shall forthwith be suspended from
practice before this Court without any order of Court until becoming eligible to practice in
another jurisdiction.
(d) For Unauthorized Practice. The Court may order any person who
practices before it in violation of this Rule to pay an appropriate penalty. Payment of such
sum shall be an additional condition of admission or reinstatement to the Bar of this Court
or to practice in this Court.
(e) Standards of Professional Conduct. Every member of the Bar of this
Court, and any attorney permitted to practice in this Court under (b), shall become familiar
with and comply with the standards of professional conduct required of members of the
State Bar of California and contained in the State Bar Act, the Rules of Professional
Conduct of the State Bar of California, and court decisions applicable thereto, which are
hereby adopted as standards of professional conduct in this Court. In the absence of an
applicable standard therein, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct of the American
Bar Association may be considered guidance. No attorney admitted to practice before
this Court shall engage in any conduct that degrades or impugns the integrity of the Court
or in any manner interferes with the administration of justice.
(f) Attorney Registration for Electronic Filing. All attorneys who wish to file
documents in the Eastern District of California must be admitted to practice or admitted
to appear pro hac vice. They must also complete an e-filing registration as prescribed in
L.R. 135.
