Local Counsel Requirements – Southern District Texas

The following sets forth the local counsel requirements – Southern District Texas along with an application to appear pro hac vice and attorney admission requirements.

Attorney Admission – Southern District Texas

The attorney admission requirement for the Southern District of Texas is set forth in Local Rule 83.1:

ELIGIBILITY FOR ADMISSION: A lawyer applying for admission to the bar of this court must be licensed to practice law by the licensing authority of one of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, or a territory of the United States, and if licensed by a licensing authority other than the State of Texas, then an attorney must also be a member in good standing of a United States district court. The attorney shall file an application on a form prescribed by the court, accompanied by payment of the fee set by order of the court. Local Rule 83.1.A,C, S.D. Texas. Download the Application Form.

Each application for admission filed with the clerk shall be accompanied by:

  1. Payment of $181.00. Attorneys employed by an agency of the United States, the Federal Public Defender or the Texas Attorney General are exempt from paying the fee.

  2. A copy of your state bar card.

  3. If applicable, a Certificate of Good Standing (not more than 90 days old) from another federal court.

  4. If applicable, a executed Oath (not more than 30 days old). (See Document Required page of Application Form).

WORKSHOP: After an application has been submitted and approved, the attorney will be required to attend a workshop held by the court before being admitted. Applicants residing in the Houston and Galveston divisions must attend a workshop in Houston. Applicants residing in other divisions may attend a workshop in any division.

Workshops are generally held on the second Thursday of February, May, August and November. To guarantee admittance to a workshop, your application must be received 14 days prior to the workshop. The following are exempt from attendance at a workshop:

  1. Applicants who have reached the age of seventy.

  2. Applicants who reside out of the district and are members of the bar of another United States district court who have provided a Certificate of Good Standing from that court, and an executed Oath.

  3. Former circuit, district, bankruptcy and magistrate judges.

  4. Applicants who are Texas State Bar members who have completed the current Federal Court Practice Seminar(an online CLE offered by the State Bar of Texas) and provide proof that they completed the course with their application.

Pro Hac Vice Application

You can find a PDF of the Southern District of Texas’s Pro Hac Vice application below as well as by using this linkto the court’s website.

Pro Hac App – Southern District of Texas

Local Counsel Requirements – Southern District Texas

Other than attorney admission and pro hac vice admission requirements, the Southern District of Texas does not have a specific local counsel requirement like other Texas District Courts.

Read more on the Southern District of Texas website.

Texas Local Counsel

Interested in the local counsel and admission requirements for Texas federal courts, read Local Counsel Requirements - Northern District of Texas, Local Counsel Requirements - Eastern District of Texas, Local Counsel Requirements - Western District of Texas, and Local Counsel Requirements - Southern District of Texas.  

See our Local Counsel Texas page for additional information about our Local Counsel practice and the requirements of federal courts in Texas.

 

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