General:The Court requests that parties strictly comply with the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Court. CMCs are scheduled by the Court, and require counsel come prepared to set appropriate dates. CMCs are conducted in person. At the discretion of the Court, written requests to conduct CMCs by phone will be granted in the event of a scheduling conflict, or to accommodate out-of-town counsel.

Pre-Trials: REQUIREMENTS FOR FINAL PRETRIAL (pursuant to Local Rule 21): Final pretrial statement to be filed one week before final pretrial with copy hand-delivered to Room 20B. Statement should include: Statement of facts Brief statement of legal issues List of non-expert trial witnesses List of expert trial witnesses (Loc. R. 21.1) Special legal problems anticipated Estimated length of trial Special equipment needed for trial Plaintiff's demand/Defendant's offer Client must be present at final pretrial. Any other arrangements must be approved in advance by the Court.

Motion Practice: All motions, pleadings, etc. must be filed with the Clerk of Courts. Having motions, pleadings, etc. time-stamped on the 11th Floor of the Justice Center does not constitute filing. Anything submitted that has not been received for filing by the Clerk of Courts will not be considered. All motions are to be filed no later than 7 days before trial.

Discovery: Parties shall comply with Local Rule 11(F). Unless a dispute arises, agreements between the parties regarding discovery matters are not to be submitted to the Court. However, the parties may not make any agreement on the extension of discovery deadlines set by the Court at the Case Management Conference without the Court's approval.

Settlement Conference: Scheduled on a case-by-case basis. Otherwise, each court appearance is considered to be an opportunity to resolve case.

Calendaring and Continuances: The Court requires that all requests for continuances comply with Local Rule 17. Failure to comply, absent a showing of good cause, will result in denial of the continuance. In addition, a joint request must include proposed dates to which all parties are amenable. Motion for continuances of trial will not be considered unless accompanied by an acknowledgment of request signed by client, as well proposed dates when all parties are available to reschedule trial.

Trials: Trial briefs to be filed and copy delivered to Courtroom 20B at least 3 days before trial. Complete proposed jury instructions shall be filed as hard copy and on disc (MS Word compatible software) and delivered to Courtroom 20B at least 3 days before trial, typed in the following format: double spaced; all caps; plain print (i.e., no bold or italics); and no footnotes. Plaintiff's exhibits shall be numbered and Defendant's exhibits shall be lettered.

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