Northern District Of Illinois
Local Rules
LR83.10. General Bar
(a) Qualifications. An applicant for admission to the bar of this Court must be a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia.
(b) Petition Form. The Executive Committee will approve a form of petition to be used by anyone applying for admission to practice. Copies of the approved form will be provided on request by the clerk.
(c) Filing Petition. Each person applying for admission to practice shall file with the clerk a completed petition for admission on the approved form.
The petitioner must file with the petition the following:
(1) a certificate from the highest court of a state of the United States or of the District of Columbia that the petitioner is a member in good standing of the bar of that court; and
(2) the affidavits of two attorneys who are currently and for at least two years have been members in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state of the United States or of the District of Columbia and who have known the applicant for at least one year.
(d) Screening the Petition. The clerk, under the supervision of the Executive Committee, will screen each petition to assure that it is filed on the correct form, has been completed and contains sufficient information to establish that the petitioner meets the qualifications required for the general bar, and is accompanied by the required affidavits of sponsors and a current indication of good standing. Where these requirements are met, an indication to that effect will be placed on the petition and the petitioner will be notified that the petition is approved. Where the requirements are not met, the petition will be returned to the applicant with appropriate instructions.
(e) Taking the Oath. Petitioners in the Western Division must appear in person before a judge in the Western Division to be admitted. Petitioners in the Eastern Division may choose whether or not to appear in person to be admitted. If a petitioner in the Eastern Division does not wish to appear in person to be sworn in, the petitioner’s signature by the “Oath of Office” must be notarized. If a petitioner in the Eastern Division does not have his/her “Oath of Office” signature notarized and wishes to appear in person to be admitted, then within 30 days of the petition being approved pursuant to section (d), the petitioner will appear before a judge of this Court or a magistrate judge to take the oath or affirmation required for admission. Petitioner may make arrangements to appear before a judge of this Court or a magistrate judge in order to take the oath or affirmation. In such circumstances petitioner must be accompanied by an attorney who is a member in good standing of the bar of this Court. That attorney will move the admission of the petitioner.
(f) Admission Fee. Each petitioner shall pay an admission fee upon the filing of the petition, provided that in the event the petitioner is not admitted, the petitioner may request that the fee be refunded. The amount of the fee shall be established by the court in conjunction with the fee prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1914.
(g) Certificate of Admission. On receipt of completed petition form indicating that the petitioner has taken the oath of office, or on receipt of the attorney’s own motion accompanied by a copy of the attorney’s Certificate of Admission to Practice in another District of Illinois and by the attorney’s certification that the attorney is admitted in that district and that his or her right to practice law is not suspended by order of court in any jurisdiction, the clerk shall promptly issue a certificate indicating that petitioner has been admitted to the general bar of this Court and add petitioner’s name in the list of attorneys admitted to that bar.