Pro hac vice

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Pro hac vice, Latin for "for this occasion" or "for this event," (literally, "for this turn") is a legal term usually referring to a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction, but has been allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction.

The right to appear pro hac vice is not guaranteed. Rather the attorney wanting to practice in a jurisdiction within which he or she is not licensed must specifically request permission from the court to be able to appear as an attorney of record. This is accomplished with a Motion to Appear Pro Hac Vice, where another attorney who is licensed in the jurisdiction requests that the non-licensed attorney be admitted to practice in a particular case.

In addition to the motion, the non-licensed attorney is typically required to provide the court with a statement from his local bar association indicating that he is a member in good standing, and also pay a small fee to the local bar association.

An example of a pro hac vice appearance occurs in the film The Devil's Advocate, where Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) argues a case for the New York firm he has just joined after moving from Florida.