Join the Bars of our Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals, & Then Brag About It
Recently, in a first-year writing class covering hierarchy of authority and our U.S. Court system, my students and I discussed membership in the bars of the United States Supreme Court and Circuit Courts of Appeals. The 1Ls did not know these courts have separate bars and admissions, and asked how and why practitioners might join. I shared the process for the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit (we’re in California) with them, and let them know they might even participate in a December group swearing-in at a Circuit Court one day. Many students said they would see these memberships as prestigious and impressive.
The class discussion led me to survey my local appellate pals informally. While a few were jaded about the value of listing these bar admissions in their firm bios or on resumes, many of our appellate community practitioners use memberships in these bars as indicia of appellate experience, especially if they do not have a state appellate specialization to list. A search of Twitter reveals attorneys bragging about their federal licenses, and one friend told me she added all of her federal bar admissions to her LinkedIn profile when she let her state appellate specialization expire. Another colleague told me partners asked about these admissions when he wanted to move from litigation to an appellate department at a large law firm. While this is anecdotal evidence, it supports the value in highlighting any federal bar memberships, especially appellate court bar memberships.
Therefore, the next time you update a professional profile, you should consider adding any federal bar admissions you have. In fact, one law school career development office expressly suggests doing so. https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/career-planning-and-development/alumni-career-services/adding-bar-admission-your-resume.
Curious about applying to a federal bar? Check out the court’s website. If you do not have an account for online filing, you will need one to practice at the Circuit Court (and sometimes you need to be a member first to create these accounts), so learn about PACER and CM/ECF, and start your registration process. Most of the Circuits still require anyone not newly admitted to a state bar to have either a sponsor or a clerk certification, and to also obtain a certificate of good standing from their state bar. E.g., https://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/content/atty_instructions.phphttp://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/clerk/attorneys/admission_instructions.html. Moreover, while the forms are now available online through PACER, the $220-230 fee required by the courts is not de minimis. These are even more reasons to brag about your membership once you join. And, if you want the details for each federal court, author and general counsel John Okray has written an entire book on admission to the various federal district and circuit courts, U.S. Federal Courts: Attorney Admission Requirements: 2011 Edition (2nd Revised Ed. Lawyerup Press 2010).
Please feel free to comment about the memberships you list on your profiles and bios. I’ll be sure to share comments with my students. Thanks!