Appear Pro Hac Vice

Per Local Bankruptcy Rule 2090-1, an attorney who is not a resident of, nor regularly employed, nor engaged in business, in the State of California, may request to appear in a specific bankruptcy case or adversary proceeding by filing an Application of Non-Resident Attorney to Appear in a Specific Case (pro hac vice). The procedure is:

a) Obtaining Court Approval to Appear Pro Hac Vice:

  1. Obtain an application, which may be downloaded here;
  2. File the pro hac vice application, either via CM/ECF or in person at a bankruptcy court intake window;
  3. Take a conformed copy (or copy with a Notice of Electronic Filing) to the intake window of the District Court for the Central District of California and pay the fee required by District Court Local Rule 83-2.8.2 and noted on District Court Form G-64. While it is not necessary to fill out and file Form G-64, the form contains the current fee;
  4. A clerk at the District Court will stamp the conformed copy with a receipt of payment; and
  5. Take the "receipt" stamped copy back to the bankruptcy court intake window and file a copy along with lodging an Order Approving Request to appear Pro Hac Vice; OR, file via CM/ECF a declaration re payment of fees, and lodge via LOU an Order Approving Request to appear Pro Hac Vice.
b) Planning Ahead, Especially if the Attorney Intends to Appear by Telephone - Many judges require telephonic appearance requests to be made several days before a hearing or adversary conference, and many judges will not consider a request to appear by telephone until the attorney establishes that permission to appear pro hac vice has been granted by the court.