judge console · N.D. Ill.
N.D. Ill. · Judge Kocoras · Practice Guide

Hon. Charles P. Kocoras

Verified 2026-06-26verify at the court's site ↗

All local rules for N.D. Ill., integrated with this judge's published requirements.

Before You File
Contacting chambers
👤 Judge Kocoras — standing order

The BEST way to get in contact with the courtroom deputy is to email at amanda_scherer@ilnd.uscourts.gov.

Drafting the Motion
Length limits — motion, opposition, reply
🏛 N.D. Ill. local rule
Motion

15 pages maximum Local Rule 7.1 ↗

Opposition

15 pages maximum Local Rule 7.1 ↗

Reply

15 pages maximum Local Rule 7.1 ↗

Filing & Scheduling
Briefing schedule & hearing date
🏛 N.D. Ill. local rule
Notice period

Presentment model; notice date not more than 14 days after filing Local Rule 5.3 ↗

Hearing days

File by 4:30 PM two business days before presentment; hearing days set per judge Local Rule 78.1 ↗

Proposed orders
🏛 N.D. Ill. local rule

Silent on proposed orders. The local rules do not require a proposed order with motions. Consult the assigned judge's individual practices page on the court website. Local Rule 5.3(a) ↗

The Hearing
Oral argument
🏛 N.D. Ill. local rule

Oral argument at court's discretion; court may rule on papers without hearing Local Rule 78.3 ↗

Discovery
Discovery referral procedure
🏛 N.D. Ill. local rule

Magistrate assigned to each case; LR 37.2 in-person or phone conferral required before filing Local Rule 72.1 ↗

Discovery dispute procedure
👤 Judge Kocoras — standing order

Meeting Requirement The Court encourages the parties to work out discovery disputes and discourages the filing of discovery motions. With regard to the filing of motions for discovery and production of documents under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26-37 , the Court will not hear or consider any discovery motions unless the parties have complied with Local Rule 37.2 In any motion for discovery or production of documents, the movant shall state when and how the movant complied with Local Rule 37.2 .

Know Before You Go
👤 Judge Kocoras — deviations that burn people
  • [Motion Practice]
  • Scheduling Motions The Court hears motions Tuesdays at 9:50 a.m. All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1. Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court. Extensions of Time Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline. Searchable Text To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF. The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf. The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not.
content assembled from published local rules & standing orders · click any section in the rail for the full treatment
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