(a) Admission to Practice. Admission to and continuing membership in the bar of this Court is limited to
attorneys of good moral character who are active members in good standing of the Territorial Bar of
Guam.
(b) Procedure for Admission. Each applicant for admission is required to file a petition for admission in
electronic form and pay the required fee through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER)
system at www.pacer.gov. This one application will be utilized both to admit and then to provide the
applicant to the bar of this Court with electronic filing privileges for use on the Court’s Electronic Case
Filing (ECF) system.
(1) The petition shall be accompanied by:
(A) a certificate from the Supreme Court of Guam evidencing the fact that the applicant
is an active member in good standing of the Territorial Bar,
(B) a certificate of a member of the bar of this Court, stating that he knows the applicant
and can affirm that he is of good moral character, and
(C) an order for admission to be signed by the judge. (Copies of the petition for
admission and order of admission shall be supplied by the clerk upon request.)
(2) Upon qualification, the Clerk or his authorized deputy shall administer the following oath of
admission to the applicant:
"I solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Organic
Act of Guam, the applicable statutes of the United States and the laws of the territory of
Guam; That I will maintain the respect due to the Courts of Justice and Judicial Officers
and that I will demean myself uprightly as an attorney at law; And to abide by the
American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct."
(3) Before the clerk is authorized to issue a certificate of admission to the applicant, the
applicant must:
(A) sign the prescribed oath;
(B) sign the roll of attorneys; and
(C) pay an attorney admission fee fixed by the Judicial Conference of the United States,
together with an assessment in an amount to be set by the Court, made payable to
Clerk, District Court of Guam.
(4) Any attorney so admitted and any attorney previously admitted who would now be eligible
for admission under subsection (a) of this Rule shall be deemed to be an active member of the
Bar of this Court.
(c) Attorneys for the United States. Any full-time United States Attorney, Assistant United States
Attorney, Federal Public Defender and Assistant Federal Public Defender and any attorney who is
employed or retained by the United States or its agencies and is representing the United States or any of
its officers or agencies, 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 is of good moral character, may practice in this Court in any matter on behalf
of the attorney’s employer in the attorney’s official capacity, without petition for admission pursuant to
17.1 (a) and (b). Attorneys so permitted to practice in this Court are subject to the jurisdiction of the
Court with respect to their conduct to the same extent as members of the bar of this Court.
(d) Pro Hac Vice. An attorney who is not eligible for admission under paragraph (b) hereof, 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, who is of good
moral character, and who has been retained to appear in this Court, may, upon written application and
in the discretion of the Court, be temporarily admitted to practice in a particular case, subject to
subsection (4) of this rule.
(1) Unless authorized by the Constitution of the United States or Acts of Congress, an attorney is
not eligible to practice pursuant to this paragraph (d) if any one or more of the following apply
to him:
(A) he resides in Guam,
(B) he is regularly employed in Guam, or
(C) he is regularly engaged in business, professional or other activities in Guam.
(2) The pro hac vice application shall be presented to the clerk and shall state under penalty of
perjury;
(A) the attorney's residence and office addresses,
(B) by what court he has been admitted to practice and the date of admission,
(C) that he is in good standing and eligible to practice in said court,
(D) that he is not currently suspended or disbarred in any other court, and
(E) if he has concurrently or within the year preceding his current application made
any pro hac vice applications to this Court, the title and the number of each matter
wherein he made application, the date of application, and whether or not his
application was granted. He shall also designate in his application an active member in
good standing of the bar of this Court as required by subsection (e) of this Rule, with
whom the Court and opposing counsel may readily communicate regarding the conduct
of the case and upon whom papers shall be served.
(3) The pro hac vice application shall also be accompanied by payment to the clerk of a fee, fixed
by the Judicial Conference of the United States, together with an assessment in an amount to be
set by the Court, made payable to Clerk, District Court of Guam. If the pro hac vice application is
denied, the Court may refund any or all of the fee or assessment paid by the attorney. If the
application is granted, the attorney is subject to the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to his
conduct to the same extent as a member of the bar of this Court.
(4) An attorney admitted or previously admitted to practice before this Court under subsection
(d) of this Rule shall be subject to an annual renewal fee in an amount to be set by the Court,
and due on or before January 1 payable to Clerk, District Court of Guam. Upon failure to pay the
renewal fee, a pro hac vice attorney will be given thirty (30) days’ notice by the Court that the
renewal fee has not been received. If the attorney fails to pay the fees within thirty (30) days
after the notice is sent, the Court will enter an order into each applicable case removing his or
her name from that case.
(e) Designation of Local Counsel. An attorney applying to practice before this Court under subsection (d)
of this Rule, shall designate an attorney who is an active member in good standing of the Bar of this
Court, who resides in and has an office in this District, as co-counsel. He shall file with such designation
the address, telephone number, and written consent of such designee. The associated local attorney
shall at all times meaningfully participate in the preparation and trial of the case with the authority and
responsibility to act as attorney of record for all purposes. Any document required or authorized to be
served on counsel by all Federal Rules or by these Rules, shall be served upon the associated local
counsel. Service upon associated local counsel shall be deemed proper and effective service unless
excused by the judge. Local counsel shall attend all proceedings related to the case before this Court for
which counsel is associated unless excused by this court.
(f) Government of Guam Attorneys. Any attorney employed as a full time employee of the
Government of Guam or Guam Legal Services Corporation, who is not eligible under
paragraph (b) hereof, may be temporarily admitted to practice in the District Court of Guam.
Each applicant for temporary admission shall present to the clerk a written petition for temporary
admission, stating the applicant's full name, residence address, office address, the names of the
courts before which the applicant is admitted to practice, and the respective dates of admission to
those courts.
(1) The petition for temporary admission shall be accompanied by:
(A) a certified copy of the applicant's order for temporary admission to practice law in
the Territory of Guam;
(B) a certificate of a member of the bar of this Court, stating that he knows the applicant
and can affirm that he is of good moral character, and
(C) an order for temporary admission to be signed by the judge.
(2) Upon qualification, the applicant must pay the Attorney Admission Fee fixed by the Judicial
Conference of the United States, together with an assessment in an amount to be set by the
Court, (payable to the Clerk, District Court of Guam) and the clerk or his authorized deputy shall
administer the oath of admission set forth in paragraph (b)(2) hereof, and have the applicant
sign the prescribed oath.
(3) Government of Guam Attorneys temporarily admitted to practice in this Court are subject to
the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to their conduct to the same extent as members of the
bar of this Court. Upon termination of employment with the Government of Guam or Guam
Legal Services Corporation, the government attorney so temporarily admitted shall notify, in
writing, the clerk of the District Court of Guam of such termination. Once notified, the clerk shall
strike the temporarily admitted government attorney from the roll of attorneys. If the
temporarily admitted attorney meets the requirements for full admission while still employed as
an attorney for the Government of Guam or Guam Legal Services Corporation, and complies
with all of the requirements set forth in subsection (b) herein, the permanent admission fee will
be waived.
