The PC Advisor web site reports that Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner Susan Estrich – a law professor at the University of Southern California and legal contributor to the Fox News channel – admitted to the mistake in a filing last week.

'No mere formality’

Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal wrote: ‘There is no record in the court’s database that she is admitted to practise in this court. This is potentially a more serious breach. While the requirements for admission to this district’s bar may not be particularly onerous for one licensed to practise law in the state of California they are no mere formality.’
In her filing, Ms Estrich said she believed she had been admitted to the Northern District court because of a previous position she held at a Californian law firm in 1986, which assisted her to comply with the necessary requirements. However, that firm had since dissolved, leaving Ms Estrich to say: ‘As a result of these circumstances, I did not confirm my membership to practise before this court. My omission was through inadvertence and oversight, and my conduct was not wilful.’
Judge Grewal has mentioned the possibility of penalties but has so far not specified what they might be.