OAR 137-003-0550: Representation of Parties; Out-of-state Attorneys

(1) Natural persons who are parties in a contested case may represent themselves or may be represented by an attorney or other representative as authorized by federal or state law, including ORS 183.458. (2) Corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, unincorporated associations, trusts and government bodies must be represented by an attorney except as provided in OAR 137-003-0555 or as otherwise authorized by law. (3) Unless otherwise provided by law, an out-of-state attorney may not represent a party to a contested case unless the out-of-state attorney is granted permission to appear in the matter pursuant to Oregon Uniform Trial Court Rule 3.170. Local counsel who obtained the order on behalf of the out-of-state attorney must participate meaningfully in the contested case in which the out-of-state attorney appears. (4) Even if section (2) applies, a request for hearing will not be deemed to be invalid solely because it was not signed by a person licensed to practice law in Oregon as long as an attorney ratifies the request, in writing, within 28 days of the date that the request was received by the agency. The filing date will be determined by the date the hearing request was received, not by the ratification date. This requirement applies to hearing requests received after January 31, 2012.