Judge Michelle Williams Court -- United States District Court, Central District of California

Courtroom 6A, 6th Floor, Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez U.S. Courthouse, Los Angeles

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Key Traps — Where Counsel Gets Caught

1. Civil motions heard Fridays at 1:30 p.m. (not Mondays) — an unavailable Friday date will result in the motion being STRICKEN via minute order, not re-set
2. Reply/opposition due on a holiday must be filed the preceding Thursday (not the following Monday) and hand-delivered/emailed to opposing counsel that Thursday
3. Oral argument is the default — will be heard on all noticed motions unless the Court notifies otherwise
4. Remote appearance requires written application 7 days before hearing with declaration of good cause — Court "strongly prefers" in-person
5. Telephonic appearances are affirmatively PROHIBITED (Zoom-only via advance request) — no phone conference dial-ins
6. Do not provide chambers/courtesy copies — Court will request them by order in rare instances
7. Proposed orders must be on pleading paper WITHOUT attorney info on the caption, no footer with document name, and no watermark — plus emailed in Word to MWC_Chambers
8. Ex parte requires advance notice by telephone AND email including anticipated opposition deadline; service must be by fax/email/personal service even if e-service applies
9. Scheduling conferences default to in-person; Zoom requests must be e-filed 7 days before the conference
10. Counsel must promptly inform the Court of any finalized or imminent settlement that may moot a calendared motion — not wait for the hearing

Quick Reference

Topic	Rule
Motion Days	SO §6a Time for Filing and Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rules 6 and 7. This Court hears motions on Fridays, beginning at 1:30 p.m. If the motion date selected is not available, the Court will issue a minute order striking the motion. (JPS) Civil motions are heard on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. Criminal motions are heard on Fridays at 10 a.m. [court-michelle \| motion_hearing_days]
Motion Limit	SO §6c Length and Format of Motion Papers: Memoranda of points and authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause shown will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [court-michelle \| page_limits_motions]
Reply Limit	SO §6c: Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause shown will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [court-michelle \| page_limits_replies]
Chambers Copies	Conditional SO §9 Chambers Copies: Please do not provide chambers/courtesy copies. In the rare instance in which the Court would like chambers copies... [court-michelle \| chambers_copies_details]
Remote Appearances	SO §6g Oral Argument: The Court strongly prefers in-person appearances. Requests for a remote appearance will only be considered upon a written application filed at least seven (7) days before the hearing and supported by an appropriate declaration establishing good cause. SO §10 Telephonic Hearings: The Court does not permit appearances or arguments by way of telephone conference calls. Scheduling Order fn.1: By default, all scheduling conferences shall proceed in-person, unless a request is made by the parties and granted by the Court. Requests to appear via Zoom must be e-filed seven (7) days before the conference. [court-michelle \| remote_appearances]
Discovery	SO §5 Discovery: All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge to hear all discovery disputes. (The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the Judge's initials next to the case number.) [court-michelle \| discovery_referral]

Procedural Briefing by Motion Type

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Before You File

Motion Days & Times

Notice Period

SO §6a Time for Filing and Hearing Motions: Motions shall be filed in accordance with Local Rules 6 and 7. This Court hears motions on Fridays, beginning at 1:30 p.m. If the motion date selected is not available, the Court will issue a minute order striking the motion. (Counsel are advised to check the availability of a selected date immediately prior to filing the motion.) Opposition or reply papers due on a holiday must be filed the preceding business day (i.e., Thursday)—not the following business day (i.e., Monday)—and must be hand-delivered or emailed to opposing counsel on the preceding business day. [court-michelle | motion_notice_days]

Motion Page / Word Limit

SO §6c Length and Format of Motion Papers: Memoranda of points and authorities in support of or in opposition to motions shall not exceed 25 pages. Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause shown will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [court-michelle | page_limits_motions]

Opposition Limit

Reply Limit

SO §6c: Replies shall not exceed 12 pages. Only in rare instances and for good cause shown will the Court grant an application to extend these page limitations. [court-michelle | page_limits_replies]

Font & Formatting

SO §6c Length and Format of Motion Papers: Pursuant to the Local Rules, either a proportionally spaced or monospaced font may be used. A proportionally spaced face must be 14-point or larger, or as the Court may otherwise order. A monospaced face may not contain more than 10½ characters per inch. These typeface requirements apply to footnoted material. Counsel shall adhere to Local Rule 5-4.3 with respect to the conversion of all documents to PDF format so that when a document is electronically filed, it is in proper size and is text-searchable. Further, all documents shall be filed in a format so that text can be selected, copied, and pasted directly from the document. [court-michelle | font_formatting]

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At Filing

Chambers Copies

Conditional SO §9 Chambers Copies: Please do not provide chambers/courtesy copies. In the rare instance in which the Court would like chambers copies for a particular situation, the Court will issue an order requesting them. [court-michelle | chambers_copies_details]

Proposed Orders

SO §8 Proposed Orders: Each party filing or opposing a motion or seeking the determination of any matter shall serve, and electronically lodge, a proposed order setting forth the relief or action sought and a brief statement of the rationale for the decision with appropriate citations. Proposed Orders must be on pleading paper and must not include attorney information on the caption page, should not contain a footer with the document name or other information, and should not contain a watermark. A copy of the proposed order in Word format shall be emailed to MWC_Chambers@cacd.uscourts.gov on the date the document is electronically filed. [court-michelle | proposed_orders]

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Before the Hearing

Oral Argument

SO §6g Oral Argument: The Court strongly prefers in-person appearances. Requests for a remote appearance will only be considered upon a written application filed at least seven (7) days before the hearing and supported by an appropriate declaration establishing good cause. If the Court deems a matter appropriate for decision without oral argument, the Court will notify the parties in advance. (JPS) Unless otherwise notified, oral argument will be heard for all noticed motions. [court-michelle | oral_argument_default]

Remote Appearances

SO §6g Oral Argument: The Court strongly prefers in-person appearances. Requests for a remote appearance will only be considered upon a written application filed at least seven (7) days before the hearing and supported by an appropriate declaration establishing good cause. SO §10 Telephonic Hearings: The Court does not permit appearances or arguments by way of telephone conference calls. Scheduling Order fn.1: By default, all scheduling conferences shall proceed in-person, unless a request is made by the parties and granted by the Court. Requests to appear via Zoom must be e-filed seven (7) days before the conference. [court-michelle | remote_appearances]

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Background Rules

Chambers Contact

SO §14 Communications with Chambers: Counsel shall not attempt to contact the Court or its staff by telephone or by any other ex parte means unless contact has been first initiated by chambers staff. Counsel must not contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk regarding the status of any matter before the Court. Counsel may contact the Courtroom Deputy Clerk with appropriate inquiries only. The preferred method of communication with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk is email. To facilitate communication with the Courtroom Deputy Clerk, counsel should list their email addresses along with their telephone numbers on all papers. [court-michelle | chambers_contact_restrictions]

Discovery Referral

Discovery Motion Process

SO §5 Discovery: All discovery matters have been referred to a United States Magistrate Judge to hear all discovery disputes. (The Magistrate Judge's initials follow the Judge's initials next to the case number.) All documents must include the words "DISCOVERY MATTER" in the caption to ensure proper routing. Counsel are directed to contact the Magistrate Judge's Courtroom Deputy Clerk to schedule matters for hearing. [court-michelle | discovery_motion_process]

Ex Parte Applications

SO §11 Ex Parte Applications: Counsel for the applicant must provide advance notice of the application by telephone and email to all other parties. In addition to the information required by Local Rule 7-19.1, the notice must advise the other parties of the anticipated deadline to oppose the application. The applicant must serve the application by facsimile, email, or personal service, even if electronic service is effected under Local Rule 5-3.2.1. Oppositions to ex parte applications must be filed within 24 hours of the filing of the application, subject to Rule 6(a)(2). [court-michelle | ex_parte_notice]

Settlement Notification

(JPS) Settlement: When a motion is calendared or under submission, counsel are required to inform the Court promptly of any finalized or imminent settlement that may render the motion moot. [court-michelle | settlement_notification]

Lead Counsel

SO §3 Presence of Lead Counsel: The attorney attending any proceeding before this Court, including all status and settlement conferences, must be the lead trial counsel. Scheduling Order §III.C Participation: If the Court elects to conduct a Scheduling Conference, lead trial counsel must attend unless excused by the Court for good cause before the conference. [court-michelle | lead_counsel_requirement]

Under Seal Filings

Silent on under seal requirements. [court-michelle | under_seal_requirements]

Continuances & Calendar Conflicts

SO §13 Continuances: This Court has a strong interest in keeping scheduled dates certain. Changes in dates are disfavored. Trial dates set by the Court are firm and will rarely be changed. Therefore, a stipulation to continue the date of any matter before this Court must be supported by a sufficient basis that demonstrates good cause why the change in the date is essential. Without such compelling factual support, stipulations continuing dates set by this Court will not be approved. Counsel requesting a continuance must lodge a proposed stipulation and order including a detailed declaration of the grounds for the requested continuance or extension of time. [court-michelle | continuances_calendar_conflicts]

Sources & Currency

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