In In re Anne Elder Kershaw, No. 2018-031 (S.V.I), the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands affirmed the denial of a motion for pro hac vice admission based on the following facts. The non-Virgin Islands counsel in question filed a motion in the trial court to be admitted pro hac vice that was granted, but subject to the attorney taking a required oath. After the motion was granted, but before the attorney took the oath, she represented her client at a mediation in the Virgin Islands. The Court not only vacated the prior order granting the pro hac vice motion, it also referred the matter to disciplinary authorities, ruling that pro hac vice admission was required for any “practice of law” in the Virgin Islands, and that representing a client in mediation in the Virgin Islands, even in a private mediation, constituted the practice of law. Since the attorney had not yet taken the oath, the attorney was not yet admitted and therefore violated the local rules of ethics by participating in the mediation.
Lest you think this a quirk of Virgin Island law, cases from many other states are cited:
See In re Roswold, 249 P.3d 1199, 1208 (Kan. 2011) (“Without admission pro hac vice, out-of-state attorneys appearing in Kansas courts, or actively participating in pretrial proceedings such as depositions or mediations, would be engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in this state.”); In re Dox, 152 P.3d 1183, 1187 (Ariz. 2007) (attorney not admitted in the state engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by representing a party in a private mediation in that state); In re UPL Advisory Opinion 2003-1, 623 S.E.2d 464, 464-65 (Ga. 2005) (representing a client in settlement discussions is the practice of law); Cincinnati Bar Association v. Telford, 707 N.E.2d 462 (Ohio 1999) (same).