In the legal field in the United States,pro hac vice (English:/proʊhækˈviːtʃeɪ/)[1] is a practice incommon law jurisdictions whereby alawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certainjurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction.[2] Althoughpro hac vice admission is available in every American jurisdiction,[3]civil law jurisdictions generally have much stricter rules for multi-jurisdictional practice.[4]
The term has a different meaning when used by the Catholic Church or undermaritime law.
Pro hac vice is Latin "for this occasion" or "for this event" (literally, "for this turn"). The origins of the doctrine of admissionpro hac vice have been traced as far back as 1629 in theEnglish Court of Common Pleas.[5] The doctrine appeared in America as early as 1735 in theNew Yorktrial of John Peter Zenger forlibel, when thePhiladelphia attorneyAndrew Hamilton was permitted to appear on Zenger's behalf.[3] The term also appeared in the State's 1777 constitution. By 1876, the custom had become "general and uniform" in the United States.[6]
The right to appearpro hac vice is not guaranteed, and 50-state surveys have shown that "most jurisdictions intend for pro hac vice admission to be used on a sparing and occasional basis."[3] Generally, the attorney who requests authorization to practice in a jurisdiction within which they are not licensed must specifically request permission from the court to be able to appear as an attorney of record.[3] Depending on the local rules and procedures, this may be accomplished with amotion to appearpro 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.[3] In most jurisdictions, an attorney appearingpro hac vice must continue to associate with a locally licensed attorney (referred to as "local counsel"), though the degree to which the local counsel is required or expected to participate in the matter varies widely; some courts may require local counsel to sign documents and appear in court,[7] while others may grant thepro hac vice counsel more independence.[3]
In addition to the motion, the out-of-jurisdiction attorney is typically required to provide the court with a statement from their localbar association indicating that he or she is a member in good standing and also pay a small fee to the court or its local bar association. For example, there is a $25 annual fee in theUnited States District Court for the District of Delaware,[8] and theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York charges a $200 fee to file a motion for admissionpro hac vice.[9]
The expression is also used in theCatholic Church when atitular diocese becomes the title of an archbishop rather than of a bishop. Similarly, when a Cardinal-Deacon is promoted to Cardinal-Priest he usually retains his titular deaconry. This deaconry is then said to be elevatedpro hac vice to the rank of a titular church. When referring to a titular diocese or titular deaconry which once was elevatedpro hac vice but by now has reverted to its original rank the termpro illa vice is used in church documents.[citation needed]
If, however, a titular archbishop (usually a higher ranked member of theRoman Curia) is appointeddiocesan bishop, he isarchbishopad personam for his titular see, and holds the episcopal title of the diocese in addition to the archepiscopal title of the titular see.
Inmaritime law, ademise charterer is considered the ownerpro hac vice for limited liability purposes, whereas time or voyage charterers are not.[10]
Attorneys who are admitted pro hac vice may endorse pleadings, however, our Local Rules require the endorsement of local (admitted) counsel on all pleadings. Attorneys who are admitted pro hac vice are not permitted to file electronically. It is the responsibility of local counsel to electronically file documents.