E.D. Mo. L.R. 12.01

(A) Roll of Attorneys.

The bar of this Court consists of those attorneys who have been granted

admission upon satisfaction of the requirements for admission to practice before this Court

prescribed by the rules in force at the time of their application for admission. Except as

otherwise provided in this rule, only attorneys enrolled pursuant to the rules of this Court or

duly admitted pro hac vice may file pleadings, appear, or practice in this Court.

Nothing in these rules is intended to prohibit any individual from appearing

personally on his or her own behalf. An attorney admitted to practice in another Federal District

Court or licensed by any state to practice law may appear and represent the United States or the

State of Missouri, or any of their respective departments or agencies, without general admission

to the bar of this Court. Admission to the bar of this Court is not required in order to file or

appear in a miscellaneous case, to appear in a case transferred to this Court pursuant to 28

U.S.C. § 1407 on an order of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, or in any other case

transferred from another District Court on an order of that District Court.

(B) Qualifications for Admission.

An attorney of good moral character who holds a license to practice law from,

and who is a member in good standing of the bar of, the highest court of any state or the District

of Columbia may apply for admission to the bar of this Court.

(C) Procedure for Admission.

A candidate for admission to the bar must submit an electronic application

through the attorney’s PACER account. In addition to the completed application, the applicant

must submit: (1) a current certificate of good standing from the highest court of the state of the

applicant’s primary practice (i.e., one dated within sixty (60) days of date of the application);

and (2) the prescribed application fee. Applicants who attend this Court's biannual admission

ceremony in Jefferson City and are admitted to the Missouri Bar on the same day as this Court's

ceremony are not required to submit a current certificate of good standing from the Supreme

Court of Missouri. If the Court determines that an investigation of an applicant’s character

and fitness is necessary, a member of the bar of the Eastern District of Missouri may be

appointed by the Chief Judge to conduct an examination of the applicant’s background and

report written findings to the Court. An attorney appointed for this purpose will be compensated

from the Attorney Admission Fee Non-Appropriated Fund at a reasonable hourly rate, provided

that total compensation may not exceed $2,500.00 plus actual expenses. Each completed

application will be examined by the Clerk of Court for satisfactory evidence of compliance with

these rules. The Clerk is authorized to approve an application for admission that satisfies these

requirements. Upon approval of an application for admission, the attorney must take an oath or

affirmation administered by a district, magistrate or bankruptcy judge of this Court. For good

cause, the oath may be administered via telephone, videoconference or other electronic means.

Admission to the bar of any division will constitute admission to practice in all divisions of the

Court, including the Bankruptcy Court.

(D) Admission of Government Attorneys.

An attorney representing the United States, the State of Missouri or another

State, or any of their respective departments, officials or agencies may apply for special

Government Counsel limited admission to the bar of this Court. The applicant must be a

member in good standing of the bar of the highest Court of any State or the District of

Columbia. A candidate for limited admission under this rule must submit electronically a

verified application through the attorney’s PACER account. The applicant must submit a letter

written on the employing government agency’s letterhead containing a statement signed by the

agency executive indicating the applicant’s name, title, and current employment status. Letters

must be emailed to the Attorney Admissions Department of the Clerk’s Office at

Attorney_Admissions@moed.uscourts.gov.

(E) Renewal of Membership.

The roll of attorneys admitted to practice before this Court will be renewed

quadrennially commencing after 1999. A renewal registration must be submitted to the Clerk by

every member of the bar on or before the thirty-first day of January of each renewal year. Each

renewal registration must be accompanied by a fee in an amount set by order of the Court at

least ninety days prior to each registration period. The Clerk will publish notice or otherwise

inform the bar of the renewal requirement and the fee at least sixty days before the deadline for

submitting such renewal registration.

The Clerk will deposit the renewal registration fees collected pursuant to this

rule into the fund created by Local Rule 12.03, to be used for the purposes specified in that rule,

and to defray the expenses of maintaining a current register of members of the bar of this Court.

An attorney who fails to submit the required renewal registration and pay the

renewal fee will be provisionally removed from the roll of members in good standing, and the

attorney’s privilege to file pleadings, appear and practice in any division of the Eastern District

of Missouri will be suspended. If no renewal registration is submitted within three (3) months

of the delinquency, the name of the attorney will be permanently removed from the roll by

order of the Court, without prejudice to a subsequent application for admission.

(F) Admission Pro Hac Vice.

An attorney who is not regularly admitted to the bar of this Court, but who is a

member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any state or the District of Columbia,

may be admitted pro hac vice for the limited purpose of appearing in a specific pending action.

Unless allowed by a judge for good cause, an attorney may not be granted admission pro hac

vice if the applicant resides in the Eastern District of Missouri, is regularly employed in the

Eastern District of Missouri, or is regularly engaged in the practice of law in the Eastern

District of Missouri. A motion requesting admission pro hac vice must be verified and must

include the name of the movant attorney, the address and telephone number of the movant, the

name of the firm under which the movant practices, the name of the law school attended and the

date of graduation, the movant’s dates and places of admission to practice law; and a statement

that the movant is in good standing in all bars in which he or she is a member, and that the

movant does not reside in the Eastern District of Missouri, is not regularly employed in this

district, and is not regularly engaged in the practice of law in this district. The movant attorney

must include as an attachment to the motion for admission pro hac vice a current certificate of

good standing from the highest court of the state in which the attorney resides or is regularly

employed as an attorney, or other proof of good standing satisfactory to the Court. The motion

must be filed with the Clerk of the District Court or with the Clerk of the Bankruptcy Court, as

appropriate, where the action is pending, with payment of the prescribed fee. If the attorney has

not previously been granted e-filing access in this district, the attorney must request access

through an Individual PACER account. Once e-filing access has been activated by the Court,

all subsequent documents submitted to the Court by that attorney must be filed electronically,

including the motion for pro hac vice admission and any subsequent motion for pro hac vice

admission. Attorneys not admitted to this Court who appear in a miscellaneous case, in a case

transferred to this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 on an order of the Judicial Panel on

Multidistrict Litigation, or in any other case transferred from another District Court on an order

of that District Court, must request e-filing access through an Individual PACER account in the

same manner as described above for attorneys seeking admission pro hac vice.

(G) Duty to Report Contact Information.

Attorneys admitted to practice under this rule have a continuing duty to promptly

notify the Clerk of any change of name, business address, telephone number, or e-mail address.

Changes must be submitted to the Court through the attorney’s PACER account.

(H) Registration Number.

The registration number for each attorney granted regular admission to the bar of

this Court will be the attorney’s state bar number followed by the two-letter abbreviation of the

applicable state; e.g., #12345 MO. This registration number must be included in the attorney’s

signature block on every filing in this Court.

(I) Court Appointed Representation.

All attorneys who are members in good standing of the bar of this Court will be

required to represent without compensation indigent parties in civil matters when so ordered by

a judge of this Court, and to accept appointments by a judge to represent indigent criminal

defendants under the Criminal Justice Act unless exempt by rule or statute, except when such

representation would create a conflict of interest. Statutory fees and expenses may be awarded

as provided by law to an attorney appointed under this rule.

A self-represented litigant who receives appointed counsel in a civil matter will,

absent extraordinary circumstances, not be entitled to the services of substitute or other

appointed attorneys. If a self-represented litigant in a civil matter discharges an appointed

attorney or requests for appointment of other counsel, the Court will inform the self-represented

litigant of the provisions of this subsection of this rule before authorizing the appointed attorney

to withdraw as counsel of record.

For each of the divisions of this Court, the Court may designate mentor attorneys

who will be available to assist and advise appointed counsel. The involvement of a mentor

attorney shall not create an attorney-client relationship between that mentor attorney and the

client of the appointed attorney.

An attorney appointed in a civil matter will not be required to represent another

self-represented litigant in another civil matter during the pendency of the civil matter and for a

period of at least one year after final disposition of the civil matter before the Court.

Compensation of the attorney appointed in a civil matter under this rule may be sought under

Local Rule 12.03 (FRCP 83), Local Rule 12.06 (FRCP 83), any other applicable rule of the

Court, or any other provision of law.

(Amendment to Paragraph (D) adopted October 2, 1999, effective December 1, 2000; Amendment to Paragraph (C) adopted July 9, 2004,

effective August 16, 2004; Amended July 10, 2006, effective August 28, 2006; Amendment to Paragraph (A) adopted April 9, 2007, effective

May 14, 2007; Amendment to Paragraph (E) adopted November 21, 2008, effective January 1, 2009; Amendment to Paragraph (D) adopted

May 7, 2010, effective June 15, 2010; Amended June 15, 2012, effective August 1, 2012; Amended November 5, 2014, effective December 15,

2014; Amended November 4, 2015, effective January 1, 2016; Amended September 7, 2016, effective December 1, 2016.; Amended October 2,

2019, effective November 1, 2019; Amended December 14, 2022, effective March 1, 2023; Amended October 1, 2025, effective December 15,

2025)