Oh Rudy...

All eyes are on the Middle District of Pennsylvania, which is set to hear arguments in one of the Trump Campaign’s voting lawsuits today. Enter Rudy Giuliani, who has applied for pro hac vice admission despite his last federal court appearance being before some lawyers were born.

However, it looks like Rudy may have some problems right out of the gate, in addition to all of his other problems. On page 2 of his application, he represents that he is in good standing in several bars, including the District of Columbia. However, as of 10:45 a.m. Central time on November 17, 2020, he shows up as administratively suspended for non-payment of dues on the DC Bar lookup. (I can’t seem to be able to paste a screenshot, but you can see it in the Twitter thread where I learned of this issue here. h/t “@nycsouthpaw”.) The Twitter thread also suggests he may not be on the attorney roll in the Second Circuit, where he also claims to be in good standing.

I don’t really have to tell people who read an ethics snark blog that you don’t do this, right? You make sure that everything on your application is accurate and if needed clear up your dues and other issues, right? Administrative suspensions for dues aren’t really a big deal—they’re not reflective of your character or competency, and plenty of lawyers just let their licenses lapse (rather than resign) when they move or stop practicing—but saying you’re in good standing when you’re not in good standing is a good way to turn the administrative suspension into a disciplinary one. And that’s true even when the whole world isn’t watching.