procedural guides

Pro Hac Vice Motions

According to Black’s Law Dictionary, a Pro Hac Vice motion is a motion requesting permission for a lawyer to appear in a jurisdiction wherein he/she is not a licensed attorney. The Latin translation is: “for this turn; for this one particular occasion.”

The laws surrounding Pro Hac Vice vary from state to state and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. For instance, according to Hawaii attorney Philip R. Brown, Pro Hac Vice motions are occasionally necessary for clients who reside on the islands and are involved in civil litigation and who want to include an attorney from the mainland. Attorney Brown writes: 

Sometimes, a client who is involved in a Hawaii State court case would like his or her own mainland lawyer to be involved in the Hawaii case. In such matters, with the permission of the Court, the mainland attorney can temporarily be admitted to practice in the state of Hawaii specifically to assist in the litigation of that particular case. In this case, the attorney is referred to as being admitted pro hac vice.

As such, the Hawaii Rules of Supreme Court for invoking a Pro Hac Vice appearance must be followed. The fees surrounding Pro Hac Vice will vary as well; in 2020 the fee to the Hawaii State Bar for a Pro Hac Vice was $815.

Another complexity with regard to Pro Hac Vice admission is that, in some jurisdictions, this will apply to arbitration as well. According to a blog post by Sommers Schwartz entitled “Out-of-State Attorneys Beware: Michigan’s Pro Hac Vice Rule Extends Beyond the Courtroom,” these constraints may apply to attorneys who never intend to set foot in a Michigan courtroom. To this end, they write:

Like every other jurisdiction, Michigan requires that attorneys from other states who appear in Michigan courts seek temporary privileges by means of a limited pro hac vice admission. Unlike other jurisdictions, however, this mandate applies to arbitration and administrative proceedings, as well.

Michigan Court Rule 8.126 provides as follows:

Any person who is licensed to practice law in another state or territory, or in the District of Columbia, of the United States of America, or in any foreign country, and who is not disbarred or suspended in any jurisdiction, and who is eligible to practice in at least one jurisdiction, may be permitted to appear and practice in a specific case in a court, before an administrative tribunal or agency, or in a specific arbitration proceeding in this state when associated with and on motion of an active member of the State Bar of Michigan who appears of record in the case. 

As such, even if an out-of-state attorney participating in arbitration or an administrative tribunal never sets foot in a courtroom, he or she must nevertheless comply with Michigan’s pro hac vice rule by associating with a Michigan attorney who will handle the procedural requirements of the temporary admission.


To get the most up to date local and federal rules pertaining to Pro Hac Vice Motions visit SmartRules.


Sources

Black’s Law Dictionary 

Hawaii State Bar Association

Michigan Rule 8.126

Out-of-State Attorneys Beware: Michigan’s Pro Hac Vice Rule Extends Beyond the Courtroom


Originally published April 11, 2014