You asked whether an attorney who has been admitted as an attorney “pro hac vice” to federal court in Connecticut in accordance with the federal rules of court is subject to our occupational tax. You also asked whether there is a mechanism by which the federal court communicates to the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) as to what attorneys appeared in federal court.

Our office is not authorized to give legal opinions and this report should not be considered one.

SUMMARY

According to Susan Sherman, legislative liaison to the Department of Revenue Services (DRS), attorneys admitted pro hace vice in federal court are not subject to Connecticut's occupational tax. She also advised us that the tax does apply to attorneys admitted pro hace vice in state court and that the Judicial Department provides DRS with a list of all attorneys licensed to practice law during the year including those admitted pro hace vice.

Kevin Rowe, clerk of court for the federal district court for the District of Connecticut informed us that the court does not advise attorneys admitted pro hace vice of any potential liability under the occupational tax nor does his office provide a list of these attorneys to the DRS.

As you know, the term pro hac vice means “for this occasion” or “for this event”. It is a legal term usually referring to a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction, but who has been allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction.

OCCUPATIONAL TAX FOR ATTORNEYS

By law, anyone who has been admitted as an attorney by the judges of the Superior Court must annually by January 15th, file an annual return prescribed or furnished by the DRS commissioner. If he was engaged in the practice of law in the year preceding the year in which an occupational tax is due, he must, pay to the commissioner a tax in the amount of $ 450 by January 15th. The law requires that any person who has been admitted as an attorney pro hac vice in accordance with the rules of court must file a return and pay the tax for any year in which he was admitted pro hac vice and engaged in the practice of law in Connecticut (CGS § 51-81b(a)).

The law requires the DRS commissioner to notify the chief court administrator of the failure of any person to pay the tax and the chief court administrator must notify the superior court judges of such failure(CGS §51-81b(c)).

Any person who fails to pay the tax on time is subject to a penalty of $ 50, which the DRS Commissioner may collect. In addition, if any tax is not paid when due, interest is added at the rate of one per cent per month from the date the tax became due until it is paid. The commissioner may waive all or part of the penalty or interest when he is satisfied that the failure to pay any tax was due to reasonable cause and was not intentional or due to neglect (CGS § 51-81b (d-f)).

Exemption from the Occupational Tax

The tax does not apply to:

The law specifies that no one is liable to pay the occupational tax solely because he engaged in the practice of law while acting as an employee of the state, any political subdivision of the state, or any probate court.

STATE COURT RULES FOR APPEARING PRO HAVE VICE

Section 2-16 of the Superior Court Rules allows any attorney who is in good standing at the bar of another state, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico, upon written application presented by a member of the Connecticut bar, to be permitted in the court's discretion to participate to such extent as the court may prescribe in the presentation of a cause or appeal in any Connecticut state court.

The application must be accompanied by the affidavit of the applicant:

1. certifying whether he has a grievance pending against him in any other jurisdiction, has ever been reprimanded, suspended, placed on inactive status, disbarred, or has ever resigned from the practice of law and, if so, setting forth the circumstances concerning such action;

2. designating the chief clerk of the superior court for the judicial district in which he will be appearing as his agent upon whom process and service of notice may be served, and agreeing to register with the statewide grievance committee while appearing in the matter in Connecticut and for two years after the completion of the matter in which he appeared; and

3. identifying the number of cases in which he has appeared pro hac vice in Connecticut superior court.

The rule also requires that a member of the Connecticut bar be present at all proceedings and must sign all pleadings, briefs and other papers filed with the court and assume full responsibility for them and for the conduct of the cause and of the attorney to whom such privilege is accorded.

The rule specifies that good cause for granting such privilege must be limited to facts or circumstances affecting the personal or financial welfare of the client and not the attorney. Such facts may include a showing that by reason of a longstanding attorney-client relationship predating the cause of action or subject matter of the litigation, the attorney has acquired a specialized skill or knowledge with respect to the client's affairs important to the trial of the cause, or that the litigant is unable to secure the services of Connecticut counsel. Upon the granting of an application to appear pro hac vice, the clerk of the court in which the application is granted must immediately notify the statewide grievance committee of such action.

Rule 62-8A contains similar rules for appearing pro hac vice in the Connecticut Appellate or Supreme Court.

FEDERAL COURT-RULES FOR APPEARING PRO HACE VICE

The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (hereinafter referred to as the Connecticut district court) has jurisdiction in the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven.

In order to represent a party in a case in a district court, a person must be an attorney at law and generally must be admitted to the bar of that particular court. The United States does not have a separate bar examination for federal practice (except with respect to patent law). Admission to the bar of a district court is generally granted as a matter of course to any attorney who is admitted to practice law in the state where the district court sits. The attorney submits his application with a fee and takes the oath of admission.

Rule 83. 1 of the Connecticut district court governs the admission of attorneys to appear before it. Under this rule, any attorney of the Connecticut bar or of the bar of any United States District Court whose professional character is good may be admitted to practice upon motion of any member of the Connecticut district court bar.

Lawyers not members of the Connecticut district court bar, but who are members in good standing of the bar of another federal or state court may be permitted to represent clients in criminal, civil, and miscellaneous proceedings in the Connecticut district court on written motion by a member of the Connecticut district court bar. The motion must be accompanied by an affidavit, duly sworn and executed, by the proposed visiting lawyer:

1. stating his office address, telephone number, fax number, and email address, if any;

2. identifying each court of which he is a member of the bar;

3. stating that he has not been denied admission or disciplined by the Connecticut district court or any other court, or if that is not true, describing in full the circumstances of any such denial or discipline, including the reasons, any penalty was imposed, whether the penalty was satisfied, and whether the lawyer is currently in good standing in the jurisdiction that denied admission or imposed discipline; and

4. stating that he has fully reviewed and is familiar with the rules of the Connecticut district court.

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