What do you do when someone from another place comes to your court, hat-in-hand and asks for a continuance?
Why you tell him "Find someone here and only communicate with me through local counsel or I'll strike your motion in 30 days. Your pick.", of course. It's called a Rule 83.15 letter after the local rule it references.
That rule states:
LR83.15. Local Counsel: Designation for Service
(a) Designation. An attorney not having an office within this District (“nonresident attorney”) shall appear before this Court only upon having designated as local counsel a member of the bar of this Court having an office within this District upon whom service of papers may be made. Such designation shall be made at the time the initial notice or pleading is filed by the nonresident attorney. Local counsel shall not file a separate appearance unless that attorney is to participate in the case beyond the extent required of an attorney designated pursuant to this rule.
(b) Penalties. Where the nonresident attorney tenders documents without the required designation of local counsel, the clerk shall process them as if the designation were filed and shall promptly notify the attorney in writing that the designation must be made within 30 days. If the attorney fails to file the designation within that time, the documents filed by the attorney may be stricken by the court.
(c) Duties of Local Counsel. Local counsel shall be responsible for receiving service of notices, pleadings, and other documents and promptly notifying the nonresident attorney of their receipt and contents. In emergencies, local counsel may appear on behalf of the nonresident attorney. This rule does not require local counsel to handle any substantive aspects of the litigation. Such matters may be handled by the nonresident attorney under LR83.12 or LR83.14. Nor does the rule require local counsel to sign any pleading, motion or other paper (See Fed.R.Civ.P. 11).
But, you don't put a copy in PACER. Instead, you have a docket entry that says:
MAILED Rule 83.15 letter to Joseph P. Green, Jr. (ar, ) (Entered: 08/23/2007)