RULE 5. MERITS/MOTIONS PANEL OR STANDING PANEL PROCEDURE

(a) Representation. An attorney may be represented by counsel in any disciplinary proceeding. Counsel must enter an appearance promptly, and in any event prior to submitting any documents or at least fourteen (14) days before appearing at a hearing, whichever is earlier. Except as provided by Federal Circuit Rule 46(d), counsel must be a member of the bar of this court. (b) Show Cause Order. Any panel may issue an order describing an attorney’s misconduct and ordering the attorney to show cause (1) why a specific discipline should not be imposed or (2) why a discipline to be determined later should not be imposed. Unless otherwise ordered, a response is due within thirty (30) days. Any request for a hearing must be included in a response. (c) Uncontested Matter. If an attorney does not respond to a show cause order or does not object to the imposition of a specified discipline, the clerk of court may then issue a final order imposing such discipline. (d) Contested Matter. If an attorney contests the imposition of discipline or requests a hearing, further proceedings must be conducted in accordance with Rule 8. (e) Referral to State Bar Association or Other Disciplinary Entity. The Standing Panel or any merits or motions panel may in its discretion refer a pending disciplinary matter or a matter that has been concluded to an appropriate state bar association or other disciplinary entity. (f) Final Order. At the conclusion of a proceeding, a panel will issue a final order in the matter. The order may direct the attorney or the clerk of court to send a copy of the order to all other courts and agencies before which an attorney is admitted. The clerk of court may also Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (December 1, 2025) Page 219 (Return to Table of Contents) be directed to notify the American Bar Association’s National Lawyer Regulatory Data Bank of the discipline. (g) Review by the Panel or the Judges of the Court. An attorney may file a petition for rehearing by the panel or a combined petition for rehearing by the panel or a petition for rehearing en banc, or a majority of the judges in regular active service may order that a disciplinary matter be heard or reheard by them. Such a hearing or rehearing is not favored and ordinarily will not be ordered except when necessary to secure or maintain uniformity of the court’s decisions or when the proceeding involves a question of exceptional importance. Any such petition must be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of the panel’s final order. The procedures governing a petition for rehearing or a combined petition or a petition for rehearing en banc will otherwise be in accordance with the provisions of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 40 and Federal Circuit Rule 40.