Admission To The Bar in The United States - Federal Courts

Federal Courts

Admission to a state bar does not automatically entitle practice in federal courts, such as the United States district courts or United States court of appeals. In general, an attorney is admitted to the bar of these courts upon payment of a fee and taking an oath of admission. An attorney must apply to each district separately. For instance, a Texas attorney who practices in federal courts throughout the state would have to get admitted separately to the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District, the Southern District, and the Western District. To handle a federal appeal the attorney would also be required to be admitted separately to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for general appeals and to the Federal Circuit for appeals that fall within that court's jurisdiction. As the bankruptcy courts are divisions of the district courts, admission to a particular district court usually includes automatic admission to the corresponding bankruptcy court. However, the bankruptcy courts require attorneys attend training on electronic filing before they may file motions.

Some federal district courts have extra admission requirements. For instance, the Southern District of Texas requires attorneys seeking admission to attend a class on that District's practice and procedures; the Southern District of Florida administers an entrance exam, and the District of Rhode Island requires candidates to both attend classes and pass an examination.

Many federal district courts require attorneys to be members of the state bar where the court sits. This is not necessarily consistent within a state; for example, in Ohio, the Southern District generally requires membership in the Ohio state bar for full admission, while full admission to the Northern District is open to all attorneys in good standing with any U.S. jurisdiction.

An attorney wishing to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States must apply to do so, be admitted to the bar of the highest court of a state, be sponsored by two attorneys already admitted to the Supreme Court bar, pay a fee and take either a spoken or written oath.

Various specialized courts who have subject-matter jurisdiction, including the United States Tax Court, have separate admission requirements. The Tax Court is unusual in that a non-attorney may be admitted to practice. However, the non-attorney must take and pass an examination administered by the Court to be admitted, while attorneys are not required to take the exam. Most members of the Tax Court bar are attorneys.

Admission to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is open to any attorney admitted to practice and in good standing with the U.S. Supreme Court, any of the other federal courts of appeal, any federal district court, the highest court of any state, the Court of International Trade, the Court of Federal Claims, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. An oath and fee are required.