Appearance Counsel in New York

What Appearance Counsel Does in New York

Appearance counsel appears on behalf of the attorney of record at a single conference, motion, or deposition. Your firm keeps the case. Our office handles the appearance and sends you a written report the same day. New York practitioners usually call this role per diem counsel, and it is the same service under a different name.

The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson has been appearing in New York courts for 28 years. We cover appearances for New York firms and for firms based elsewhere that carry New York matters.

New York Supreme Court Is the Trial Court

Firms from other states are often surprised to learn that the New York Supreme Court is the trial court of general jurisdiction, not the state’s highest court. Nearly every civil conference and motion runs through it, county by county. Each county runs its own parts and calendars, and many individual justices publish part rules of their own that change how an appearance has to be handled.

What a New York Appearance Requires

An attorney familiar with the case. Many New York part rules admit only an attorney thoroughly familiar with the action and authorized to act for the party. Send the pleadings, the most recent order, and your instructions with the request, including whether the covering attorney may agree to a discovery schedule.

Proposed orders in Kings County. In the Kings County Central Compliance Part and the Final Conference Part, the order written at the conference is a proposed order. It is submitted and uploaded to NYSCEF, and the filed terms control. Our report tells you what was proposed and that the NYSCEF order governs. Read our Kings County CCP guide.

County rules on per diem counsel. Westchester County’s civil case management rules do not permit per diem counsel at settlement conferences, and most Westchester civil parts decide motions on submission without an appearance. We tell you up front when an appearance is one the county does not allow, or one that does not need an attorney at all. Read our Westchester County page.

The electronic docket. Most New York civil cases are e-filed on NYSCEF. Include the index number with your request so the covering attorney can review the current docket before the appearance.

Where We Appear

We cover New York County, Kings County, Queens County, Bronx County, and Richmond County, together with Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Orange counties. Each courthouse has its own practitioner guide:

• New York County Supreme Court and the DCM parts at 80 Centre Street
• Kings County Supreme Court
• Queens County Supreme Court
• Bronx County Supreme Court
• Richmond County Supreme Court
• Nassau County Supreme Court
• Suffolk County Supreme Court
• Westchester County Supreme Court
• Orange County Supreme Court

What We Cover

• Conferences. Preliminary, compliance, status, and trial readiness conferences.
• Motions. Motion calendars and orders to show cause that require an appearance.
• Depositions and hearings. EBTs, EUOs, and 50-h hearings.
• Virtual appearances. Teams, telephone, and other remote appearances, covered the same way as appearances in person.

We do not handle family, criminal, housing, or matrimonial matters.

The Report

You receive a written report by the end of the same business day. It states what the court directed, the dates that were set, and what your office needs to do next, with a copy of any order issued at the appearance.

When Your Firm Needs to Appear Itself

Appearance counsel appears for the attorney of record. If your firm is not admitted in New York and needs to become counsel of record in a New York case, the path is pro hac vice admission with a New York sponsor. That is a separate engagement. Read about pro hac vice sponsorship and local counsel, or see whether you can appear without pro hac vice.

Rates

Appearance counsel is billed at a flat rate per session, not by the hour. The current rate card is on our per diem services page, and we quote the exact rate when we confirm the appearance.

Book an Appearance

For same-day or emergency requests, call 212-233-0666 or text 917-686-3827. For other requests, use the booking form or email fabramson@abramsonlegal.com with the case name, index number, court, part, date, and your instructions.