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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA
IN RE: AMENDED LOCAL RULE
REGARDING ATTORNEY GENERAL ORDER 26-1
ADMISSIONS AND DISCIPLINE
The Court has determined there is an immediate need to amend LGnR4 to conform to
revised court practices and procedures regarding Attorney Admissions and Discipline. See
LGnR7-2(c). Effective January 9, 2026, LGnR4 is vacated in its entirety and is replaced by the
following:
LGnR4-1 Committees on Admissions and Grievances.
(a) Admissions. A standing Committee on Admissions shall be appointed by the Court to
investigate applications for admission to the bar of this Court referred to the Committee by
the Clerk of Court. Membership of the Committee shall be determined by order of the
Court.
(b) Grievances. An ad hoc Committee on Grievances shall be appointed by the Court, as
necessary, to investigate complaints of professional misconduct submitted to the
Committee by a judge of this Court. Membership of the Committee shall be determined by
order of the Court.
LGnR4-2 Admissions.
(a) Roll of Attorneys. The bar of this Court shall consist of those attorneys admitted to practice
before this Court who have taken the prescribed oath and submitted the required fee, if
applicable.
(b) Eligibility. Any member of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, any United
States Court of Appeals, or any District Court of the United States, or a member in good
standing of the bar of the highest court of any state of the United States, is eligible for
admission to the bar of this Court.
(c) Procedure for Admission. Every applicant for admission must complete an electronic
application for admission through PACER, and submit the required fee, if applicable.
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Additional information regarding admission procedures is available on the Court’s website.
The completed application for admission must include the following:
(1) an executed and notarized Oath of Applicant (Form AT-01), available on the Court’s
website, and
(2) either (a) a Certificate of Good Standing from any eligible court per LGnR4-2(b), or
(b) a Recommendation for Admission (Form AT-02), available on the Court’s website,
completed by two attorneys admitted and in good standing with the bar of this Court.
(d) Consent to Release of Information; Certification of Familiarity with Local Rules. An
attorney who applies for admission to the bar of this Court:
(1) consents to the release of information in their records by disciplinary and admitting
authorities for confidential consideration by this Court and/or the Committee on
Admissions; and
(2) certifies familiarity with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure (as applicable to the attorney’s area of practice), the Federal Rules
of Evidence, and the Rules of the Northern District of Oklahoma.
(e) Referral to Committee. If the Clerk of Court determines that questions exist regarding the
applicant’s qualifications or fitness to be admitted to the bar of this Court, the Clerk of
Court shall refer the application to the Committee on Admissions for investigation. The
Committee shall report its recommendations in writing to the Clerk of Court. Upon a
favorable report of the Committee, the applicant may be admitted by any judge of this
Court or the Clerk of Court.
(f) Attorneys for the United States. Attorneys who are employed or retained by the United
States or its agencies may practice in this Court in all cases or proceedings in which they
represent the United States or its agencies.
(g) Attorneys Associated with a Federal Public Defender’s Office. On occasion, the Federal
Public Defender for the Northern District of Oklahoma will assign representation of
criminal defendants to attorneys from out-of-district Federal Public Defender’s offices or
to out-of-district CJA panel attorneys.
(1) When an attorney with an out-of-district Federal Public Defender’s office or an out-of-
district CJA panel attorney is assigned to a case, the Clerk of Court shall deem the
attorney admitted to practice in the Northern District of Oklahoma solely for the
purpose of that case and shall waive the requirement that he or she complete an
application for admission or file a motion for admission pro hac vice.
(2) Within twenty-four hours of being assigned to a case in this manner, an out-of-district
attorney shall file an entry of appearance in the case, using Form AT-04, Attorney
Appearance, available on the Court’s website.
(3) If the out-of-district attorney has not previously registered to e-file in the Northern
District of Oklahoma, the attorney shall, upon assignment to his or her first case in this
District, immediately register to e-file in this District, following the Procedure for
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Requesting E-File Registration Only, available on the Court’s website. Once the Clerk
of Court has authorized the attorney to e-file, the attorney must immediately file an
entry of appearance in the case, using Form AT-04, Attorney Appearance, available on
the Court’s website.
(h) Admission Pro Hac Vice. Any attorney who is eligible for admission to the bar of this
Court may, at the discretion of a judge of this Court, be granted temporary admission to
practice in a pending case. Attorneys requesting such admission are required to file a
motion and attach a completed Request for Admission Pro Hac Vice (Form AT-03)),
available on the Court’s website, and pay any required fee.
LGnR4-3 Association of Local Counsel.
(a) Responsibilities of Non-Resident Counsel. When representing a party in this Court, any
attorney who is not a resident of and does not maintain an office in Oklahoma must show
association with an attorney who is personally appearing in the action, is a resident of and
maintains a law office within the State of Oklahoma, and who has been duly and regularly
admitted to practice in this Court.
(b) Responsibilities of Local Counsel. It is the responsibility of local counsel appearing in
any case to file the motion of the non-resident attorney to be admitted pro hac vice and to
certify in the motion that the non-resident attorney is a member in good standing of the bar
of the highest court of the state where the non-resident attorney resides or is licensed. The
local attorney must sign the first pleading filed and shall continue in the case unless other
local counsel is substituted. Any notice, pleading, or other paper may be served upon the
local counsel with the same effect as if personally served on the non-resident attorney.
(c) Exemptions. Non-resident attorneys representing the United States or its agencies and
non-resident attorneys assigned by the Federal Public Defender or appointed from a CJA
panel to represent defendants in a criminal case are exempt from LGnR4-3(a). Any other
non-resident attorney seeking an exemption bears the burden to establish good cause for
the exemption and must certify familiarity with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (as applicable to the attorney’s area of practice), the
Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Rules of the Northern District of Oklahoma.
LGnR4-4 Appearance and Withdrawal of Counsel.
(a) Entry of Appearance. An attorney appearing for a party must enter an appearance by
signing and filing an entry of appearance in the case, using Form AT-04, Attorney
Appearance, available on the Court’s website.
(b) Withdrawal. Attorneys of record must not withdraw from the case except upon reasonable
notice to the client and all other parties who have appeared in the case and by leave of the
judge to whom the case is assigned.
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LGnR4-5 Resolving Scheduling Conflicts.
(a) Definition. An attorney shall not be deemed to have a scheduling conflict unless:
(1) the attorney is lead counsel in two or more of the actions affected, and
(2) the attorney: (a) certifies that the matters cannot be adequately handled, and the clients
interest adequately protected, by other counsel for the party in the action or by other
attorneys in lead counsel’s firm; (b) certifies compliance with the rule and has
nevertheless been unable to resolve the conflicts; and (c) certifies a proposed resolution
by list of such cases in the order of priority specified by this rule.
(b) Whenever an attorney is scheduled to appear in two or more courts (trial, appellate, state,
or federal), the attorney must give prompt written notice, as specified in (a) above, of the
conflict to opposing counsel, to the clerk of each court, and to the judge before whom each
action is set for hearing. The written notice shall contain the attorney’s proposed resolution
of the appearance conflicts in accordance with the priorities established by this rule, and
shall set forth the order of cases to be tried, with a listing of the date and data required as
to each case arranged in the order in which the cases should prevail under this rule.
Attorneys confronted by such conflicts are expected to give written notice as soon as the
conflict arises but, in any event, at least seven days before the date of the conflicting
settings. In resolving scheduling conflicts, the following priorities shall ordinarily prevail:
(1) Criminal (felony) actions shall prevail over civil actions set for trial or appellate
proceedings.
(2) Jury trials shall prevail over non-jury matters, including trials and administrative
proceedings.
(3) Trials shall prevail over appellate arguments, hearings, and conferences.
(4) Appellate proceedings shall prevail over all trial hearings, other than actual trials.
(5) Within each of the above categories only, the action which was first set shall take
precedence.
(c) In addition to the above priorities, consideration should be given to the comparative age of
the cases, their complexity, the estimated trial time, the number of attorneys and parties
involved, whether the trial involves a jury, and the difficulty or ease of rescheduling.
(d) The judges of the courts involved in a scheduling conflict shall promptly confer, resolve
the conflict, and notify counsel of the resolution. The judge presiding over the earliest-filed
case will be responsible for initiating this communication.
(e) Conflict resolution shall not require the continuance of the other matter or matters not
having priority. In the event the matter determined to have priority is disposed of before
the scheduled time set, the attorney shall immediately notify all affected parties, including
the court affected by the disposal, and shall, absent good cause shown to the Court, proceed
with the remaining case or cases which did not have priority, if the setting was not vacated.
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(f) Nothing in these guidelines is intended to prevent courts from voluntarily yielding a
favorable scheduling position, and judges of all courts are urged to communicate with each
other in an effort to lessen the impact of conflicts and continuances on all courts.
LGnR4-6 Standards of Practice.
The following are principles intended to guide attorneys in practicing in the Northern District of
Oklahoma:
(a) In fulfilling his or her primary duty to the client, a lawyer must be ever conscious of the
broader duty to the judicial system that serves both attorney and client.
(b) A lawyer owes, to the judiciary, candor, diligence, and utmost respect.
(c) A lawyer owes, to opposing counsel, a duty of courtesy and cooperation, the observance of
which is necessary for the efficient administration of our system of justice and the respect
of the public it serves.
(d) A lawyer owes, to the administration of justice, the fundamental duties of personal dignity
and professional integrity.
(e) Lawyers shall treat each other, the opposing party, the Court, and members of the Court
staff with courtesy and civility and conduct themselves in a professional manner at all
times.
(f) A client has no right to demand that counsel abuse the opposite party or indulge in offensive
conduct. A lawyer shall always treat adverse witnesses and litigants with fairness and due
consideration.
(g) In adversary proceedings, clients are litigants and though ill feeling may exist between
clients, such ill feeling shall not influence a lawyer’s conduct, attitude, or demeanor
towards opposing lawyers.
(h) A lawyer shall not use any form of discovery, or the scheduling of discovery, as a means
of harassing opposing counsel or counsel’s client.
(i) Lawyers shall be punctual in communications with others and in honoring scheduled
appearances and shall recognize that neglect and tardiness are demeaning to the lawyer and
to the judicial system.
(j) If a fellow member of the bar makes a just request for cooperation, or seeks scheduling
accommodation, a lawyer shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold consent.
(k) Effective advocacy does not require antagonistic or obnoxious behavior and members of
the bar shall adhere to the higher standard of conduct which judges, lawyers, clients, and
the public may rightfully expect.
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LGnR4-7 Discipline by the Court.
(a) Discipline by Other Courts; Criminal Convictions. Whenever any member admitted to
practice in this Court, including a person admitted pro hac vice, has been suspended or
disbarred from the practice of law by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma or by any other court
of competent jurisdiction; has resigned from the practice of law pending disciplinary
proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction; or has been convicted of a felony or
any crime involving moral turpitude in any court of competent jurisdiction, such
disbarment, suspension, resignation, or conviction shall operate as an automatic suspension
of the attorney’s right to practice in this Court, and an order of suspension shall be issued
by the Court. Any attorney subject to this rule must notify the Court immediately upon any
such disbarment, suspension, resignation, or conviction. The notification must be in writing
to the Clerk of Court. The automatic suspension from this Court shall remain in effect
unless the attorney has, by motion to the Court within twenty-eight days of the order of
suspension, shown good cause as to why the suspension should not remain in effect. The
Chief Judge or his or her designee shall rule on such motion. If the attorney was disbarred,
suspended, resigned, or was convicted as stated above, an order of disbarment will issue if
no motion for good cause has been filed within the required period.
(b) Requirement to Self-Report. Failure to self-report is a separate cause for disciplinary
action; however, a failure to self-report an administrative suspension for failure to pay an
annual registration fee or to comply with mandatory continuing legal education
requirements shall not constitute separate cause for further disciplinary action by this
Court.
(c) Professional Misconduct. Complaints of professional misconduct by an attorney are
subject to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11. Complaints of professional misconduct may be submitted by
a judge of the Court, at his or her discretion, to the Committee on Grievances. Upon receipt
of a complaint regarding the professional conduct of an attorney, the Committee on
Grievances shall, after providing the attorney notice and opportunity to be heard, report
and recommend to the Court whether:
(1) the inquiry should be terminated because the question raised is unsupported or
insubstantial;
(2) the alleged professional misconduct justifies further inquiry, and, for members of the
Oklahoma Bar Association, the matter should be referred to the Office of the General
Counsel of the Oklahoma Bar Association for investigation and prosecution by that
Office, if warranted;
(3) the alleged professional misconduct warrants consideration of prompt disciplinary
action by this Court regarding the attorney’s right to practice before the Court; or,
(4) the alleged professional misconduct of an attorney not a member of the Oklahoma Bar
Association justifies further inquiry by the Court.
Any attorney whose conduct in this Court is under investigation by the Committee on
Grievances shall not be admitted until the pending investigation is concluded. Any action
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taken by the Court pursuant to a report and recommendation by the Committee on
Grievances shall be by a majority vote of the active judges.
Nothing contained in this Local Rule shall limit the right of an individual judge to manage
the cases assigned to that judge, which right shall include, without limitation, the authority
to impose any sanctions, penalties, or other restrictions which may be appropriate in a
particular case, or the authority to refer a matter for consideration to the Committee on
Grievances on an advisory basis.
(d) Right to a Hearing. Except as otherwise provided under subsection (a), this Court shall
not impose any disciplinary action affecting an attorney’s right to practice before the Court
until after a hearing on the matter has been held before a judge or panel of judges. The
attorney may waive the right to a hearing. At the hearing, the attorney whose conduct is the
subject of the complaint shall be afforded an opportunity to appear in person and/or by
counsel, to present oral and documentary evidence, to compel the attendance of witnesses
or the production of documents, to cross-examine witnesses, and to present argument orally
or in writing. If not called by the attorney whose conduct is being investigated, it is within
the discretion of the judge or panel to call the complaining party to appear at the hearing.
(e) Sanctions. Discipline by this Court may include disbarment, suspension from practice for
a definite time, reprimand, or other discipline which the Court deems proper. Referral of a
complaint to the Office of the General Counsel of the Oklahoma Bar Association for
investigation shall not constitute such discipline as to entitle the attorney to a hearing in
this Court on the propriety of the referral.
(f) Contempt of Court. Disciplinary proceedings under this rule shall not affect or be affected
by any proceeding for contempt under Title 18 of the United States Code or under Fed. R.
Crim. P. 42.
(g) Unauthorized Practice. Any person who before admission to the bar of this Court, or who
during disbarment or suspension exercises any of the privileges bestowed upon members
of this bar, or who pretends to be entitled to such privileges, or who otherwise engages in
the unauthorized practice of law before the Court, shall be guilty of contempt of this Court
and shall be subject to punishment therefor and any other discipline which the Court may
impose.
(h) Reinstatement. Persons disbarred indefinitely from practice before this Court may not
petition for reinstatement until three years following disbarment or until two years
following an adverse decision upon a previous petition for reinstatement; provided,
however, that a person disbarred under subsection (a) may apply for reinstatement at any
time upon being reinstated by the disciplining body. Persons suspended indefinitely must
satisfy all conditions to reinstatement imposed by the Court at the time of suspension.
IT IS SO ORDERED this 9th day of January, 2026.
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_____________________________________
JOHN F. HEIL, III
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
_____________________________________
SARA E. HILL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
_____________________________________
JOHN D. RUSSELL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
_____________________________________
TERENCE C. KERN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
_____________________________________
CLAIRE V. EAGAN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
_____________________________________
GREGORY K. FRIZZELL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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