Admission to Practice

 

Appearances by Attorneys not Admitted in the District (Local Rule 83.I.05)

Upon motion of an attorney admitted to practice before this Court, any person who is a member in good standing of the Bar of a United States District Court and the Bar of the highest court of any State or the District of Columbia shall be permitted to appear in a particular matter in association with a member of the Bar of this Court. A motion seeking admission under this Rule

  1. shall be accompanied by an Application and Affidavit setting forth the applicant’s qualifications for admission and the applicant’s agreement to abide by the ethical standards governing the practice of law in this Court;

  2. shall be submitted to this Court upon the forms prescribed by this Court which can be obtained on this Court’s website or from the Clerk of Court;

  3. shall be accompanied by an application fee of three hundred and fifty dollars ($350); and

  4. shall include a certificate of consultation. See Local Civil Rule 7.02

 

Admission of Counsel to Practice - MDL

Panel Rule 6 states that any attorney of record in any action transferred by the MDL Panel may continue to represent his or her client in any district of the United States to which such action is transferred. Parties to any action transferred under 28 U.S.C. fol. § 1407 are not required to obtain local counsel in the SC district. 28 U.S.C. fol. § 1407.
Attorneys should use the following form to obtain an ECF login and password. (MS Word) (WordPerfect)

 

Change of Address

When firms change addresses or attorneys change firms, the Clerk's Office must be notified in writing of the change using the Attorney Address Update Form. (Link to Forms)

All questions regarding change of address should be directed to the CM/ECF Administrator at 803-253-3605.

 

Disciplinary Actions

Disciplinary actions are governed by Local Civil Rule 83.I.08 and Local Criminal Rule 57.I.01.

Eligibility (Local Rule 83.I.02)

  1. Must be a member in good standing of the South Carolina Bar.

  2. Have studied the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, the South Carolina Code of Professional Responsibility and the Local Rules.

  3. Have completed the trial experiences listed in Rule 403(b) of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules.

 

Limited Admission to Practice

Pursuant to Standing Order 24-mc-331 (link), full-time faculty who teach in clinical law programs at law schools in the state of South Carolina and who have been admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of South Carolina under South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 414 shall be granted special limited admission to the bar of this Court.

Return the completed Application for Limited Admission to Practice form (link) and Certification of Law School Dean form (link) to:

Attorney Admissions
United States District Court
901 Richland Street
Columbia, SC 29201

All questions regarding attorney admissions should be directed to Judy Maples at (803) 765-5789.

 

Local Rule Reference

See Civil Local Rule 83.I.01 through 08 and Criminal Local Rule 57.I.01.

 

Pleadings, Service and Attendance by Local Counsel in Cases Where Out-of-State Attorneys Appear (Local Rule 83.I.06)

Pleadings and other documents filed in a case where an attorney appears who is not admitted to the Bar of this court shall contain the individual name, firm name, address and phone number of both the attorney making a special appearance and the associated local counsel. In such a case, the service of all pleadings and notices as required shall be sufficient if served only upon the associated local counsel. Unless excused by the court, the associated local counsel shall be present at all pretrial conferences, hearings and trials, and may attend discovery proceedings. Local counsel is expected to be prepared to act and to participate if necessary.

 

Procedure for Admission (Local Rule 83.I.03)

  1. Complete application for Admission to Practice (MS Word) (PDF) from the Clerk of Court.

  2. Return the completed application, accompanied by a fee of $199 made payable to the Clerk of Court. If the application is in order, and upon approval of the court, the Clerk will issue the applicant a certificate of admission, along with an attorney identification number. The attorney identification number is required on each pleading or other document served or filed in this court.

  All questions regarding attorney admissions should be directed to Judy Maples at (803) 765-5789.

 

Professional Standards of Attorney

The ethical standard governing the practice in this court is the South Carolina Code of Professional Responsibility now enforced or as hereafter modified by the Supreme Court of South Carolina except as may be otherwise provided by a specific rule of this court.

 

Representation by Local Counsel who Must Sign All Pleadings (Local Rule 83.I.04)

Litigants in civil and criminal actions, except for parties appearing pro se, must be represented by at least one member of the Bar of this court who Must Sign each Pleading, motion, discovery procedure, or other document served or filed in this court.

 

Withdrawal of Appearance (Local Rule 83.I.07)

No attorney whose appearance has been entered shall withdraw his or her appearance or have it stricken from the record except with leave of court.