A Blog About Intellectual Property Litigation and the District of Delaware


Entries for tag: Pro Hac

It has somehow been more than a year since we last discussed the Mavexar cases. But do not be fooled by the calm waters. The Mavexar crab lurks below, ever watchful, and the slightest ripple might rouse it from slumber.

This was meant to be more
This was meant to be more "Jaws" and less "get off my lawn you dang kids" but I can't be bothered to mess with the prompt anymore. A reminder that we are currently accepting applications for the official IP/DE cartoonist AI-Generated, displayed with permission

Today's strand in the tale is an abject lesson in the way certain cases can follow you around for years after they've ostensibly died. It comes to us by way of a pro hac motion, of all things. Filed without fanfare and totally unopposed, one would have expected it to be granted within a day or so.

Things went a little differently in WirelessWerx IP, LLC v. Tracki Inc., C.A. No. 25-799-CFC (D. Del. Oct. 17, 2025) where an unopposed pro hac motion sat dormant for a full 11 days until the Court issued this ominous Oral Order:

So that the Court may properly consider Plaintiff's application for the pro hac admission of William Ramey, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Mr. Ramey shall file with the Court no later than October 31, 2025 a sworn declaration in which he (1) identifies all the cases he has participated in or is currently participating in as counsel of record in this District and (2) avers whether he has ever been found by a court or state bar disciplinary body to have violated a rule, order, code, or norm of professional conduct. If Mr. Ramey has been found by a court or state bar disciplinary body to have violated a rule, order, code, or norm of professional conduct, he shall identify in the declaration the court or disciplinary body as the case may be and the date and nature of the finding and he shall submit with the declaration a copy of any order, opinion, or other document issued by the court or state bar disciplinary body in connection with that finding.

This is the first time I've seen an order like this. Me being a reporter (sorta), I looked to see what the lawyer's history was in the district. Unsurprisingly, an old Mavexar case popped up.

Counsel in question represented plaintiffs in a series of cases around the time of the Mavexar hearings, including Missed Call, LLC v. Freshworks Inc., C.A. No. 22-739-CFC. In that case, counsel failed to attend a scheduled in-person hearing. This led Chief Judge Connolly to order ...

DALL·E 2022-12-20 17.09.05 - digital art of state of delaware forlornly looking at shoes
AI-Generated, displayed with permission

One of the better known quirks of Delaware practice is the requirement of association with "Delaware Counsel." This requirement is more stringent than any other jurisdiction that I know of, requiring a Delaware lawyer to sign and file all papers in the action:

Association with Delaware counsel required. Unless otherwise ordered, an attorney not admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware may not be admitted pro hac vice in this Court unless associated with an attorney who is a member of the Bar of this Court and who maintains an office in the District of Delaware for the regular transaction of business (“Delaware counsel”). Consistent with CM/ECF Procedures, Delaware counsel shall be the registered users of CM/ECF and shall be required to file all papers. Unless otherwise ordered, Delaware counsel shall attend proceedings before the Court.

D. Del. LR 83.5(d)

Although the requirement itself is generally well known, the highlighted clause is fairly obscure, and ...

Sometimes, it can be hard to take a hint.
Sometimes, it can be hard to take a hint. Edwin Hooper, Unsplash

Last month, we wrote about out-of-town co-counsel who the Court suggested may have mis-handled confidential information. The out-of-town counsel failed to appear for a hearing about the incident back in May.

Afterwards, opposing counsel requested sanctions including revocation of his pro hac admission, the out-of-town counsel withdrew his pro hac appearance. Since his withdrawal in May, the case has been re-assigned to Judge Williams, and Court had been quiet on this issue—suggesting perhaps he had successfully skirted any sanctions by mooting the relief.

Shortly after the withdrawal, the party got new Delaware counsel, and the previous Delaware counsel (who had to defend the failure to appear) withdrew. …