Intake · Conflicts · Admission · Coverage
From first email to trial, with nothing left ambiguous.
The two things referring firms actually worry about are who controls the client and who is responsible for what. Both are settled in writing before the engagement letter is signed. Here is the whole sequence.
Four steps
Send the matter
Court, case number, parties, and the next deadline. Two lines is enough. If a hearing is inside a week, call and say it is a pro hac vice deadline.
Conflicts and engagement
Conflicts run first and you get an answer within one business day — including when the answer is that I have a conflict. Engagement letter, quote, and a written division of responsibility follow the same day conflicts clear.
Admission
You complete and verify the Rule 2.510(b) form motion. I sign the consent to be associated as counsel of record, e-file it through the Portal, and serve The Florida Bar and all counsel. Your pro hac vice number follows from the Bar.
Coverage
Filings, hearings, depositions and trial support for as long as the case runs — plus a calendar reminder for the 30-day and annual Rule 1-3.10(e) reports, which remain your attorney’s duty.
Division of responsibility
This goes in the engagement letter in substantially this form, so nobody is guessing.
| Task | Your firm | Local counsel |
|---|---|---|
| Client relationship, retainer and fee | Yours. Unchanged. | None. I bill your firm, or the client directly if you prefer — settled in the engagement letter. |
| Strategy and the merits | Yours. | Advice on Florida procedure and local practice; substantive input only if you ask for it. |
| The verified motion | Complete and verify it — the five-year appearance and discipline history is yours to certify. | Sign the consent to associate, e-file it, serve the Bar and all counsel. |
| E-filing | Once your pro hac vice number issues and you register for the Portal. | Everything before that, including the admission motion. In S.D. Fla., everything, always. |
| Drafting | Yours. | Florida-compliance review before filing; drafting on request and quoted separately. |
| Hearings | Appear pro hac vice as you choose. | Appear as counsel of record; cover the calendar when you would rather not fly. |
| Deadlines | Yours to calendar. | Independent calendaring of Florida deadlines under Rule 2.514 as a second set of eyes. |
| Bar reporting | Yours — 30 days after withdrawal or conclusion, and annually under Rule 1-3.10(e). | I will remind you. The duty is on the admitted attorney. |
What to put in the first email
None of it is privileged, and all of it is what conflicts and a quote actually turn on.
Court and case number
Circuit or district, division if you know it, and the case number.
Parties
All of them, including any entity affiliates. This is what the conflicts check runs against.
Who needs admission
Names and bar states of every attorney who will appear. Each one is a separate fee to the Bar.
The next deadline
The one that is actually driving the timing. If it is inside a week, call.
Prior Florida appearances
How many Florida state pro hac vice appearances the attorney has made in the last 365 days, and in the last five years.
What you want covered
Admission only, or filing review, or hearings, or all of it. It changes the shape of the quote.
Please do not send privileged material, client confidences, or the file itself until conflicts are cleared and an engagement letter is signed. Sending a message through this site does not create an attorney–client relationship.
Ready when you are.
Send the court and the deadline. You will have conflicts cleared and a quote in writing within one business day.
Start the engagement
Court, parties, who needs admission, and the deadline driving it.