Office of Bar Counsel, 1219 WYBJ, Vol. 42 No. 7. 12
| Author | Mark W. Gifford, Wyoming State Bar Office of Bar Counsel Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Position | Vol. 42 7 Pg. 12 |
Wyoming’s New Pro Hac Vice Rule: Heightened Duties for Local Counsel
Mark W. Gifford, Wyoming State Bar Office of Bar Counsel Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wyoming’s rule governing pro hac vice admission—found in a set of rules with the clumsy title “Rules Governing the Wyoming State Bar and the Authorized Practice of Law”—has undergone a significant face lift. The most significant aspect of the new Rule 8, which went into effect on December 1, is that it charges local counsel with responsibility for violations by pro hac vice counsel:
Local counsel shall be deemed to have ratified all conduct of pro hac vice counsel and shall be responsible for pro hac vice counsel ’s violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. See Rule 5.1, W.R.Prof. Cond.
The mechanics of obtaining pro hac vice admission remain essentially unchanged. Before filing a motion to admit an out-of-state lawyer as counsel pro hac vice in a particular matter, pro hac vice counsel must obtain a Rule 8 certificate from the Wyoming State Bar. The application for a Rule 8 certificate must be accompanied by a certificate of good standing from the highest court for each jurisdiction in which the applicant is licensed, along with the applicant’s disciplinary history and the name of a member of the Wyoming State Bar who will serve as local counsel. A $500.00 application fee is paid to the Bar, $100.00 of which goes to Equal Justice Wyo-ming.[1]
The new rule amps up the information that must accompany the application for a Rule 8 certificate and authorizes the Bar to perform “such investigation as it deems appropriate” before issuing the certificate. The Rule 8 certificate must accompany the motion for admission pro hac vice that is filed with the court (or administrative tribunal) in a given matter. As with the old rule, the new version entrusts the decision to admit counsel pro hac vice to the discretion of the court and empowers the court to revoke pro hac vice admission in appropriate cases.
Speaking of administrative tribunals, the new rule clarifies an issue that was unsettled under the former rule: When is it necessary to obtain pro hac vice admission to appear before an agency or other administrative tribunal? The new rule provides an answer: “This rule applies to proceedings before administrative tribunals which require admission pro hac vice.”...
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