Print MeLR 83.5 Bar Admission
(a) Members and Nonmembers.
(1) The court’s bar consists of those attorneys admitted to practice before the court in accordance with LR 83.5(b) and (c) and who pay the clerk all admission fees the court prescribes. A member of the court’s bar must promptly notify the clerk, in writing, of any change in the member's name, mailing address, law-firm affiliation, telephone number, or e-mail address.
(2) A person who is not a member of the court’s bar may not appear or participate in a trial or hearing except as follows:
(A) on his or her own behalf, if the person is a party who may represent himself or herself;
(B) as permitted by LR 83.5(d) or (e); or
(C) by special permission of the court.
(b) Eligibilty. An attorney who has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Minnesota is eligible for admission to the court’s bar.
(c) Procedure for Admission.
(1) Petition. An applicant for admission to the court's bar must file with the clerk a petition that includes:
(A) the applicant’s residence and office addresses;
(B) a list of all courts before which the applicant has been admitted to practice;
(C) a description of the applicant’s legal training and legal experience; and
(D) a certification that the applicant has read and is familiar with:
(i) the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure;
(ii) the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure;
(iii) the Federal Rules of Evidence; and
(iv) the court’s Local Rules.
(2) Fee and Supporting Documents. The petition must be accompanied by:
(A) payment of the admission fee established by the court; and
(B) certificates from two members of the court’s bar stating:
(i) where and when they were admitted to practice before the court;
(ii) how long and under what circumstances they have known the petitioner; and
(iii) what they know of petitioner’s character and legal experience.
(3) Motion. A member of the court’s bar must move for the applicant’s admission. The court will entertain a motion for the applicant’s admission only after the clerk has examined the applicant’s petition, has found that it complies with this rule, and has presented the petition to a judge.
(4) Oath. If the court grants a motion for an applicant’s admission, the applicant must take an oath in open court:
(A) to support the Constitution and laws of the United States;
(B) to discharge faithfully the duties of a lawyer;
(C) to behave uprightly and according to law and the recognized standards of ethics of the profession; and
(D) to comply with the rules of professional conduct as adopted by this court.
(d) Nonresident Attorneys. An attorney who does not represent the United States or one of its officers or agencies, who resides outside of Minnesota, and who is not admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Minnesota may be permitted to appear before the court pro hac vice only as follows:
(1) The nonresident attorney must be a member in good standing of the bar of a federal district court other than this court.
(2) The nonresident attorney must associate with an active member of the court’s bar, in good standing, who must:
(A) participate in the preparation and presentation of the case;
(B) accept service of all papers; and
(C) be a Minnesota resident unless the court, upon motion, orders otherwise.
(3) A member of the court’s bar must move for the nonresident attorney’s admission pro hac vice. The motion must:
(A) be accompanied by payment of the admission fee established by the court;
(B) be made on the form supplied by the clerk for admission pro hac vice of attorneys other than attorneys for the United States; and, as required by the form,
(C) include:
(i) an affidavit signed by the member of the court’s bar who will be associating with the nonresident attorney; and
(ii) an affidavit signed by the nonresident attorney.
(e) Government Attorneys. An attorney who represents the United States or any of its officers or agencies and who is not a member of the court’s bar must move for admission on the form supplied by the clerk for the admission pro hac vice of attorneys for the United States. Such an attorney may be permitted to appear pro hac vice only as follows:
(1) An attorney who is a member in good standing of the bar of a federal court of appeals or a federal district court other than this court may, after filing the required form, represent the United States or any of its officers or agencies in this court.
(2) Any other attorney may represent the United States or any of its officers or agencies in this court only if the attorney both files the required form and associates with an attorney from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. The associating attorney from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota must:
(A) participate in the preparation and presentation of the case; and
(B) accept service on behalf of the United States of all papers.
[Adopted effective February 1, 1991; amended December 5th, 2008; amended January 31, 2011; amended May 9, 2011]
2011 Advisory Committee Note to LR 83.5
The language of LR 83.5 has been amended and reorganized as part of the general restyling of the Local Rules to make them more easily understood and internally consistent. These changes are intended to be stylistic only.
Subsection (a). Attorneys may make any changes to their name, mailing address, law-firm affiliation, telephone number, and email address by updating this information in the court’s ECF system.
Subsection (e). Subsection (e) was changed to provide for the pro hac vice admission for attorneys representing the government who are not admitted to practice in a United States District Court.