Pro hac vice

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Pro hac vice, Latin for "for this occasion" or "for this event," (literally, "for this turn" ^[1]) is a legal term usually referring to a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction but has been allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction.

The right to appear pro hac vice is not guaranteed. Rather, the attorney wanting to practice in a jurisdiction within which he or she is not licensed must specifically request permission from the court to be able to appear as an attorney of record. This is accomplished with a motion to appear pro hac vice, in which an attorney who is licensed in the jurisdiction requests that the non-licensed attorney be admitted to practice in a particular case.

In addition to the motion, the non-licensed attorney is typically required to provide the court with a statement from his local bar association indicating that he is a member in good standing and also pay a small fee to the local bar association.

A fictional example of a pro hac vice appearance occurs in the film The Devil's Advocate, where Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) argues a case for the New York firm he has just joined after moving from Florida. A real-life example was the admission of attorney William L. Allinder of the law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon (in Kansas City) to work pro hac vice in a lawsuit against the tobacco industry filed by Marsha F. and Richard Doolittle in New Jersey in 2002.^[2]

The consequences of failure to properly appear pro hac vice can be catastrophic. In the case of former attorney Jack Thompson, his failure to receive pro hac vice certification in Alabama resulted in the revocation of his license to practice in Alabama^[3], and contributed to his eventual permanent disbarment in Florida.

External links

• Example on Groklaw
• Definition at Nolo Press's legal glossary
• Cartoon on Courtoons

References

1. ^ Black's Law Dictionary 8th Edition
2. ^ Leboeuf, Lamb, Green and MacRae, LLP [1] Legal pleading, March 22, 2002
3. ^ http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/668/668351p1.html