Susan Estrich, a high-profile lawyer and law professor at the  and a legal contributor to the Fox News cable channel, made the admission in a filing on Thursday to the court's San Jose division.

Estrich is a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, the law firm working for Samsung in the case, and she appeared in front of the court two days earlier to argue about e-mail that could be used as evidence in the case.

On Wednesday, Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal for her appearance.

"In reviewing the docket, it appears that the Samsung attorney presenting Samsungs argument has not entered any appearance in this case," Grewal wrote. "Ordinarily under these circumstances, the court would simply remind all counsel of this obligation and request that this error be corrected without undue delay. The presiding judge has made clear, however, her expectation that such appearances precede any presentation in this court, and that all counsel be admitted to practice in this court."

"Upon further review the court has discovered that not only did counsel present arguments without first entering an appearance, there is no record in the courts database that she is admitted to practice in this court. This is potentially a more serious breach. While the requirements for admission to this districts bar may not be particularly onerous for one licensed to practice law in the State of California they are no mere formality," Grewal wrote.