New York Local Counsel for Out-of-State Law Firms

You have a New York matter and you are not admitted here. This page is about how we work, what we need from you, and how to start.

Ready to retain New York local counsel? Email fabramson@abramsonlegal.com with the case caption, the court, the index or docket number, and the next scheduled date, or send those details here. We respond the same business day with what the court requires and how we would handle it.

What Local Counsel Means Here.

Local counsel means two different things in this market, and the difference matters to your client's bill. Some firms sign the pleading, lend their bar number to the pro hac vice motion, and stop there. When the court calls a conference, you fly in. That arrangement satisfies the rule and solves almost nothing else.

We do the other version. We sponsor and file the admission motion, we appear at the conferences and the motion calls, we handle the e-filing, and we send you a written report the same day telling you what the court directed and what deadlines came out of it. You stay lead counsel and you keep the strategy. What you stop doing is traveling to New York for events that take 11 minutes.

The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson has practiced in New York courts for 28 years. Local counsel is a service line here, not something we fit around other work, and the office is admitted in both the Southern District and the Eastern District, so we can sponsor in either.

How the Engagement Works.

1. You send the case

Send the caption, the court, the index or docket number, the next scheduled date, and a sentence or two on what you need covered. That is enough for us to tell you what New York requires.

2. We answer the same business day

You get a written answer on what the court requires, which papers the admission motion needs, which certificate to order and when to order it, and what the schedule looks like from here. If the matter is one we should not take, we say so at this stage rather than after you have engaged us.

3. We paper the engagement

An engagement letter sets out the scope and the terms, states what is covered and what is not, and confines the engagement to the New York matter you sent us.

4. We file, appear, and report

We prepare and file the pro hac vice motion, sign as sponsoring counsel, and appear when the court calls the case. After every appearance you receive a same-day written report describing what happened, what the court directed, and the deadlines that follow. When the order the court hands up differs from the terms later filed, we tell you which one controls.

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

What We Need From You to Start.

You almost certainly have all five of these already: the case caption, the court and the county or district, the index number or docket number, the next scheduled date, and a short description of the appearance or filing you need covered. Send those and we can tell you what New York requires without a call.

Two items take longer than firms expect, so it helps to start them early. The first is your certificate of good standing from your admitting authority, which carries a freshness requirement, so ordering it too early creates the same problem as ordering it too late. The second is your declaration setting out your admissions and your disciplinary history, which you sign personally. We will tell you the order to do these in once we see the case.

What New York Requires.

State court: association with New York 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. That requirement is not waivable.

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. They require a motion, a declaration, a certificate of good standing dated within 30 days, and the filing fee. The difficulty comes after admission, because judges in both districts set conferences and hear argument in person. Without New York counsel on the case, each of those events is a trip.

Courts We Cover.

New York is not one court, and the differences between its parts are procedural rather than cosmetic. We cover Supreme Court in all five boroughs and in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Orange counties, along with the Southern District and the Eastern District of New York.

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. The two federal districts have separate local rules and separate individual practices. Knowing which set applies to your case is most of what you are retaining.

What We Do Not Do.

We do not solicit your client and we do not take over the matter. Local counsel is the entire engagement. Firms send us their second and third New York cases precisely because the first one came back to them intact, and a practice that took clients from referring firms would not get a second case from anyone.

We also tell you when a matter is outside what we handle. That conversation happens before an engagement letter rather than after one, and we will point you toward someone else when that is the right answer.

Frequently Asked Questions.

How do I retain you as New York local counsel?

Email the case caption, the court, the index or docket number, and the next scheduled date to fabramson@abramsonlegal.com, or send them through the form on this page. We respond the same business day with what New York requires and how we would handle the matter, and an engagement letter follows if you want to proceed.

Do you appear in court, or only sign the papers?

We appear. We cover compliance conferences, preliminary conferences, discovery motions, calendar calls, and status conferences, and you receive a written report the same day setting out what the court directed and what deadlines resulted.

Can you sponsor pro hac vice admission in federal court?

Yes. This office is admitted in both the Southern District and the Eastern District of New York and can sponsor in either, as well as in New York State Supreme Court.

Do I stay lead counsel on the case?

Yes. You keep the client, the strategy, and the case. We serve as New York counsel of record and handle what New York requires locally.

How quickly will you answer?

The same business day. Out-of-state firms usually reach out because a date is approaching, so a next-week response is the same as no response.

What if my case is not in New York City?

We cover Supreme Court in all five boroughs and in Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Orange counties, along with the Southern District and the Eastern District. Send the caption and the court and we will tell you whether the venue is one we handle.

Where Are You Admitted?

What a New York matter costs an out-of-state firm depends on where the firm sits. These pages set out what New York requires of an attorney admitted in your state, which New York courts your matters usually land in, and what we handle so that a ten-minute conference does not cost you a travel day.

If your state is not listed, the analysis is the same and we handle the matter the same way. Email fabramson@abramsonlegal.com with the caption, the court, and the next date.

Send Us the Case.

If you have a New York matter and you are not admitted here, 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.