(a) Who May Appear. Except as provided in LR 83.14 and as otherwise provided in this rule,
only members in good standing of the general bar of this Court may enter an appearance on
behalf of a party; file pleadings, motions or other documents; sign stipulations; or receive
payments upon judgments, decrees or orders. Attorneys admitted to the trial bar may appear
alone in all matters and serve as the lead attorney should a case go to trial. Attorneys admitted to
the general bar, but not to the trial bar, may appear alone in proceedings that are not
testimonial proceedings or criminal proceedings, but may not appear as the lead attorney
at trial. The following officers appearing in their official capacity shall be entitled to appear in all
matters before the court without admission to the trial bar of this Court: the Attorney General
of t h e United States, t h e United States Attorney for t h e Northern District o f Illinois, the
Executive Director of the Federal Defender Program of the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois, t h e Attorney General o r other highest legal officer o f a n y state,
and the State’s Attorney o f a n y c o u n t y i n the State o f Illinois. This exception t o membership
i n t h e trial bar shall apply t o such persons as h o l d t h e above-described offices during their
terms o f office, and t o their assistants.
(b) Testimonial Proceedings. An attorney who is a member of the trial bar may appear alone during
testimonial proceedings. An attorney who is a member of the general bar, but not of the trial
bar, may appear during testimonial proceedings only if accompanied by a member of the trial
bar who is serving as advisor. For the purposes of this rule the definition of the term
"testimonial proceedings" is the same as in LR 83.11(a)(1).
(c) Criminal Proceedings. An attorney who is a member of the trial bar may appear alone on behalf
of a defendant in a criminal proceeding. An attorney who is a member of the general bar, but not a
member of the trial bar, may (1) appear as lead counsel for a defendant in a criminal proceeding
only if accompanied by a member of the trial bar who is serving as advisor and (2) sign
pleadings, motions or other documents filed on behalf of the defendant only if such documents
are co-signed by a member of the trial bar.
(d) Waiver. A judge may permit an attorney admitted to the general bar, but not the trial bar, to
appear alone in a manner not otherwise authorized by this Rule only upon written request by the
client and a showing that the interests of justice are best served by a waiver of these rules. Such
permission shall apply only to the proceeding in which it was granted and shall be limited to
exceptional circumstances.
Amended June 24, 2009, December 23, 2016, November 20, 2020, and June 29, 2023
