united-states civil-procedure lawyer
In what circumstances (if any) can a lawyer remain anonymous?
<p>In the United States, are there any circumstances in which a lawyer can keep their identity a secret from opposing counsel in the course of representing a client?</p>
<p>In case you think this is just some weird hypothetical: <a href="https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210617/23355647013/devin-nunes-familys-bizarrely-stupid-defamation-lawsuit-goes-off-rails.shtml" rel="nofollow noreferrer">in the NuStar Farms v Hearst Magazine case</a>, an employee of the Nunes family farm has a lawyer who doesn't want her identity revealed to the opposition (or at least the Nunes' family's lawyer claims this to be the case).</p>

<p>I can't think of any legitimate reason for a lawyer who is representing a party in a lawsuit (as opposed to a transactional matter) to be anonymous. A lawyer representing a party in a lawsuit is required as a matter of course to &quot;enter an appearance&quot; making the representation formally known to the court, and to sign any document filed by that lawyer in the case.</p>
<p>Sometimes parties to lawsuits can be anonymous, but generally not lawyers (except in the case of a person representing themselves who happens to be a lawyer in a case where anonymity would normally be allowed for a represented person or a <em>pro se</em> party who is not a lawyer). Also, even when the parties to a case are formally anonymous, at some stage of the case, their identity is usually revealed to the other side in the case, even if it is anonymous vis-a-vis the public.</p>
