This Handbook is designed to help people dealing with civil lawsuits in federal court without legal representation. Proceeding without a lawyer is called proceeding "pro se1," a Latin phrase meaning "for oneself," or sometimes "in propria persona," meaning "in his or her own person." Representing yourself in a lawsuit can be complicated, time consuming, and costly. Failing to follow court procedures can mean losing your case. For these reasons, you are urged to work with a lawyer if possible. Chapter 2 gives suggestions on finding a lawyer. Do not rely entirely on this Handbook. This Handbook provides a summary of civil lawsuit procedures, but it may not cover all procedures that may apply in your case. It also does not teach you about the laws that will control your case. Make sure you read the applicable federal and local court rules and do your own research at a law library or online to understand your case. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has Clerk's Offices in the San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland courthouses. Clerk's Office staff can answer general questions, but they cannot give you any legal advice. For example, they cannot help you decide what to do in your lawsuit, tell you what the law means, or even advise you when documents are due. There are Legal Help Centers in the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose courthouses where you can get free help with your lawsuit from an attorney who can help you prepare documents and give limited legal advice. This attorney will not be your lawyer and you will still be representing yourself. See Chapter 2 for more details.

U.S. Federal Courts: Attorney Admission Requirements provides a comprehensive analysis of the specific attorney admission requirements of over 200 federal courts. Coverage includes the Supreme Court, courts of appeals, district courts, bankruptcy courts, bankruptcy appellate panels, subject-matter specific courts, military courts, territorial courts, and courts of the freely associated states. Topics include reciprocity, whether state bar membership is required for specific district courts, admission fees, renewal requirements, examinations, experience prerequisites, sponsors, certificates of good standing, pro hac vice admission, which courts allow non-attorneys or attorneys licensed in foreign countries to become members, specialty bar associations and more. Contact information for each court is included. While one might be inclined to think the rules for bar admission across the U.S. federal court system would be uniform, this is simply not the case. In some federal courts an attorney can be admitted in a matter of days with minimal effort and little to no expense. Other courts have established independent examinations, initial and recurring fees, sponsorship requirements, etc. Anyone considering a multijurisdictional federal practice will find the information extremely useful.