New York Local Counsel for Arizona Attorneys

You are admitted in Arizona. Your case is in New York. Here is what that costs you, and what it does not have to.

You are an Arizona attorney with a New York case. The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson serves as New York local counsel for Arizona firms and their clients, in New York Supreme Court, the Southern District, and the Eastern District. We sponsor the pro hac vice motion, we appear, and we file. Email fabramson@abramsonlegal.com or send us your case details, and we will respond the same business day.

The Situation You Are In.

Arizona firms come to New York on commercial and contract disputes, on real-estate and financing matters with a New York lender or counterparty, on construction and product-liability matters with New York venue, on creditor and bankruptcy-adjacent litigation, and on agreements that name New York law and a New York forum.

However the case arrived, the problem is the same. You are competent to run it and you are not admitted to run it here. New York will let you in, and New York will not let you in alone.

Then there is the arithmetic, and for an Arizona firm it is the worst arithmetic of any state we work with. A New York compliance conference is often the shortest event on your calendar and the most expensive one on the bill. Phoenix to New York is roughly four and a half hours in the air each way, in a different time zone, for a conference that may take ten minutes. That is two days of your life for one calendar call. Discovery matters generate several of these, and they are scheduled around the court's convenience rather than yours. No client pays that bill twice.

What New York Requires of an Arizona Attorney.

State court: local counsel is mandatory

In New York State Supreme Court, association with New York counsel is required. Under 22 NYCRR 520.11(c), no attorney may be admitted pro hac vice to participate in pre-trial or trial proceedings unless that attorney is associated with a member in good standing of the New York bar, and the New York attorney is the attorney of record. Your local counsel signs the pleadings and appears on the papers. That requirement is not waivable, and it is not a formality the court overlooks.

Federal court: not mandatory, and usually the right call anyway

The Southern and Eastern Districts do not categorically require a local sponsor for admission pro hac vice. What they require is a motion, a declaration, a certificate of good standing dated within 30 days, and a $200 filing fee per attorney. Arizona attorneys have an easier time with the certificate than most out-of-state counsel do, for the reason set out below. The practical difficulty is what follows admission. Judges in both districts set conferences, hold argument in person, and expect counsel in the courtroom. Without New York counsel on the case, every one of those events is a cross-country trip.

Arizona is one of the nine states, and there is still a catch

Here is the good news first. The Southern District accepts a certificate of good standing issued by a state bar from only nine states: Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. Arizona is on that list. Attorneys from Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Colorado, and most other states have to go to the clerk of their highest court and wait. You do not.

The catch is what the two Arizona offices actually issue. The State Bar of Arizona issues a Letter of Good Standing. It costs $20, it is paid by credit card through the Bar's Resource Center at 602-340-7239 or membership@staff.azbar.org, and it usually arrives within about 48 hours. The Arizona Supreme Court issues the Certificate of Good Standing through its Attorney Discipline Unit at 602-452-3378, and that document reports any discipline imposed in the preceding ten years. The State Bar says so itself: letters of good standing are not accepted by every jurisdiction, and some jurisdictions require a certificate of good standing issued by the highest court of the state.

The practical answer is to order the Arizona Supreme Court certificate. It satisfies a court that wants a highest-court document and it satisfies a court that will take the bar document, so the question never has to be argued in front of a clerk who is deciding whether to reject your motion. If the schedule is tight, the Bar letter is the faster of the two and it is the one to fall back on. Either way the document has to be dated within 30 days of the filing, and on an Arizona matter we tell you the day to order it and which office to call.

What you will need either way

Plan on that certificate, a declaration setting out your admissions and your disciplinary history, a sponsoring affirmation, and the court's fee. Nothing in the package needs a notary. Under CPLR 2106 in state court and 28 U.S.C. 1746 in federal court, a statement signed under penalty of perjury carries the same force as a sworn affidavit, wherever it is signed.

What We Do for Arizona Firms.

We have practiced in New York courts for 28 years, and local counsel is a service line rather than a favor we do between other matters. For an Arizona firm that means four things.

We sponsor and file the pro hac vice motion. We prepare the moving papers, tell you exactly which certificate to order and when to order it, sign as sponsoring counsel, and file through NYSCEF or CM/ECF. Admitted to both the Southern and Eastern Districts, we can sponsor in either.

We appear so that you do not have to. Compliance conferences, preliminary conferences, discovery motions, calendar calls, and status conferences are covered by our office, and you receive a written report the same day describing what the court directed and what the resulting deadlines are.

We keep the file compliant. New York's e-filing rules, part rules, and conference practice vary by county and by judge, and a rule you have never encountered is still a rule you are held to. We file, we calendar, and we tell you when something in the order does not say what it appears to say.

You keep the client and the case. We are local counsel. We do not solicit your client, and we do not take over the matter. The strategy stays with you, which is the arrangement most Arizona firms want and the one we are built for.

Email: fabramson@abramsonlegal.com | Phone: 212-233-0666 | Text: 917-686-3827

Which New York Court Your Case Is In.

Arizona matters we handle are usually in the Southern District of New York or in Supreme Court, New York or Kings County.

New York is not one court, and the differences are not cosmetic. The Southern District and the Eastern District have separate local rules and separate individual practices. Supreme Court runs county by county, and a Kings County compliance part does not operate the way a New York County differentiated case management part operates. We cover Supreme Court in all five boroughs and in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Orange counties, along with the Southern and Eastern Districts.

Frequently Asked Questions.

Is Arizona one of the nine states whose bar certificate the Southern District accepts?

Yes. Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont are the nine. Attorneys from every other state have to obtain the certificate from the clerk of their highest court. That puts Arizona counsel ahead of most out-of-state firms on the one step that usually sets the schedule.

Should I order the State Bar letter or the Arizona Supreme Court certificate?

Order the Arizona Supreme Court certificate when you have the time. The State Bar of Arizona issues a Letter of Good Standing for $20 that usually arrives within about 48 hours, and the Arizona Supreme Court issues a Certificate of Good Standing through its Attorney Discipline Unit that reports any discipline imposed in the preceding ten years. The State Bar itself warns that letters are not accepted by every jurisdiction. The court certificate satisfies either standard, so it is the safer document.

Do I have to hire New York local counsel as an Arizona attorney?

In New York State Supreme Court, yes. Admission pro hac vice under 22 NYCRR 520.11(c) requires association with a New York attorney who serves as attorney of record. In the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, a local sponsor is not categorically required, but judges in both districts hold conferences and argument in person, so most out-of-state firms retain local counsel regardless.

Can I appear remotely from Arizona instead?

Sometimes, and you should not build a case plan on it. New York courts moved toward virtual appearances after 2020 and then moved back. Many parts now require counsel to be physically present, and whether a given appearance may be handled remotely is decided by the individual judge rather than by a statewide rule.

Will you try to take my client?

No. Local counsel is the whole engagement. Firms send us repeat matters precisely because the first one came back to them intact, and a practice that poached clients would not get a second case from anyone.

What do you need from me to get started?

The case caption, the court and index or docket number, the next scheduled date, and a short description of what you need covered. Send those and we will tell you the same business day what the court requires and how we would handle it.

Talk to Us About Your New York Case.

If you are an Arizona attorney holding a New York matter, the first conversation costs nothing and usually saves a trip. Email fabramson@abramsonlegal.com with the caption, the court, and the next date, and we will respond the same business day.