Can I Hire an Appellate Attorney to Handle the Federal Court Appeal If He or She Is Not Authorized to Practice Law in My State?
Yes, so long as the attorney is admitted to practice before the bar of the federal court of appeals hearing your federal appeal. Many appellate attorneys have national appellate practices and are admitted to multiple federal courts of appeals. Because federal appeals typically consist of one court appearance for oral argument (if the court chooses to hear argument), the costs of travel are not prohibitive, and admitted appeals attorneys can draft the brief from anywhere in the country. It is standard practice for appeals attorneys that have not been admitted to a particular federal appeals court to file an application for admission to the court.
