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S.D.N.Y. · Judge Nathan · Practice Guide

Hon. Alison J. Nathan

Verified 2026-09-04verify at the court's site ↗

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

Before You File
Ex parte applications
🏛 S.D.N.Y. local rule

Affidavit with good and specific reasons required; state if prior application made. Local Civil Rule 6.1(d) ↗

Contacting chambers
👤 Judge Nathan — standing order

inconsistent with these Individual Practices. 1. Communications with Chambers A. All Communications by Letter. Except as otherwise provided below in Rule 1.B and 1.C, all communications with the Court shall be by letter filed on ECF. This rule also applies to questions regarding the Undersigned’s Individual Rules. Parties should not call the Chambers telephone line except as directed in Rule 1.B. Letters may not exceed three pages in length (exclusive of exhibits or attachments). Any letter longer than one page must be double spaced. Letters solely between parties or their counsel or otherwise not addressed to the Court may not be filed on ECF or otherwise sent to the Court (except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document). Unless otherwise noted, parties should not submit courtesy copies of letters filed on ECF.

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

Memoranda of law in support of or in opposition to a motion limited to 25 pages; reply memoranda limited to 10 pages S.D.N.Y. L.R. 7.1(b) ↗

Opposition

8,750 words maximum for opposition brief. Local Civil Rule 7.1(c) ↗

Reply

3,500 words maximum for reply brief. Local Civil Rule 7.1(c) ↗

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

Opposition due 14 days after service; reply due 7 days after opposition. Local Civil Rule 6.1(b) ↗

Hearing days

Silent on fixed motion hearing days. The joint local rules establish no motion-day calendar. LCR 7.1 governs motion practice (content, formatting, and briefing deadlines) but sets no court hearing dates; any hearing is scheduled at each judge's discretion per their individual practices. Local Civil Rule 7.1 ↗

Proposed orders
🏛 S.D.N.Y. local rule

Proposed orders, judgments, and decrees must be presented as directed by the ECF rules published on the website of each respective court. Local Civil Rule 77.1 ↗

Filing under seal
👤 Judge Nathan — standing order

B. Sealing and Redactions Requiring Court Approval. Except as permitted by Section 4.A, all sealing and redactions require Court approval. Motions or Letter Motions for approval of sealed or redacted filings in civil and miscellaneous cases and the subject documents, including the proposed sealed document(s), must be filed electronically through the court’s ECF system in conformity with the court’s standing order, 19-mc-00583, and ECF Rules & Instructions, section

The Hearing
Oral argument
🏛 S.D.N.Y. local rule

Motions are decided on submission unless the court schedules oral argument; contact chambers to request oral argument S.D.N.Y. L.R. 7.1(b) ↗

Discovery
Discovery referral procedure
🏛 S.D.N.Y. local rule

Must first request informal conference by letter before filing discovery motion. Local Civil Rule 37.2 ↗

Discovery dispute procedure
👤 Judge Nathan — standing order

C. Discovery Disputes. Parties must follow Local Civil Rule 37.2 with the following modifications. Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first confer in good faith with the opposing party, in person or by telephone, in an effort to resolve the dispute. If this meet-and-confer process does not resolve the dispute, the party may file a letter-motion, explaining the nature of the dispute and requesting an informal conference. Such a letter must include a representation that the meet-and-confer process occurred by telephone or in person and was unsuccessful. If the opposing party wishes to respond to the letter, it must submit a responsive letter, within two business days of the initial letter. To the extent a party’s letter contains information for which sealing is requested, the party is directed to Rule 1.C. Counsel should be prepared to discuss with the Court the matters raised by such letters, as the Court will seek to resolve discovery disputes quickly, including by telephone conference call.

Know Before You Go
👤 Judge Nathan — deviations that burn people
  • §1.A: A. All Communications by Letter. Except as otherwise provided below in Rule 1.B and 1.C, all communications with the Court shall be by letter filed on ECF. This rule also applies to questions regarding the Undersigned's Individual Rules. Parties should not call the Chambers telephone line except as directed in Rule 1.B. Letters may not exceed three pages in length (exclusive of exhibits or attachments). Any letter longer than one page must be double spaced. Letters solely between parties or their counsel or otherwise not addressed to the Court may not be filed on ECF or otherwise sent to the Court (except as exhibits to an otherwise properly filed document). Unless otherwise noted, parties should not submit courtesy copies of letters filed on ECF.
  • §2.C: C. Discovery Disputes. Parties must follow Local Civil Rule 37.2 with the following modifications. Any party wishing to raise a discovery dispute with the Court must first confer in good faith with the opposing party, in person or by telephone, in an effort to resolve the dispute. If this meet-and-confer process does not resolve the dispute, the party may file a letter-motion, explaining the nature of the dispute and requesting an informal conference. Such a letter must include a representation that the meet-and-confer process occurred by telephone or in person and was unsuccessful. If the opposing party wishes to respond to the letter, it must submit a responsive letter, within two business days of the initial letter. To the extent a party's letter contains information for which sealing is requested, the party is directed to Rule 1.C. Counsel should be prepared to discuss with the Court the matters raised by such letters, as the Court will seek to resolve discovery disputes quickly, including by telephone conference call.
  • §3.A: A. Pre-Motion Conferences in Civil Cases. Pre-motion conferences are not required, except for disputes concerning discovery, which are governed by Rule 2.C, and summary judgment motions made before the close of discovery, which are governed by Rule 3.G.vii.
  • §3.E: E. Motions to Dismiss. When a motion to dismiss is filed, the non-moving party must, within 10 days of receipt of the motion, notify the Court and its adversary in writing whether (i) it intends to file an amended pleading and when it will do so, or (ii) it will rely on the pleading being attacked. Non-moving parties are on notice that declining to amend their pleadings to timely respond to a fully briefed argument in the motion to dismiss may well constitute a waiver of their right to use the amendment process to cure any defects that have been made apparent by the briefing. See Loreley Fin. (Jersey) No. 3 Ltd. v. Wells Fargo Sec., LLC., 797 F.3d 160, 190 (2d Cir. 2015) (leaving "unaltered the grounds on which denial of leave to amend has long been held proper, such as undue delay, bad faith, dilatory motive, and futility."). This provision does not alter the time to file a response in the Fed. R. Civ. P. or Local Rules. If the party amends, the opposing party may then (i) file an answer; (ii) file a new motion to dismiss; or (ii) submit a letter stating that it relies on the initially filed motion to dismiss. If the moving party files an answer or a new motion to dismiss, the Court will deny the original motion to dismiss as moot without notice to the parties.
  • §4.B: B. Sealing and Redactions Requiring Court Approval. Except as permitted by Section 4.A, all sealing and redactions require Court approval. Motions or Letter Motions for approval of sealed or redacted filings in civil and miscellaneous cases and the subject documents, including the proposed sealed document(s), must be filed electronically through the court's ECF system in conformity with the court's standing order, 19-mc-00583, and ECF Rules & Instructions, section 6. The motion must be filed in public view, must explain the particular reasons for seeking to file that information under seal, and should not include confidential information sought to be filed under seal. Supporting papers must be separately filed electronically and may be filed under seal or redacted only to the extent necessary to safeguard information sought to be filed under seal. The proposed sealed document must be contemporaneously filed under seal in the ECF system and electronically related to the motion. The summary docket text, but not the sealed document, will be open to public inspection and should not include confidential information sought to be filed under seal. Where the motion seeks approval to redact information from a document that is to be publicly filed, the filing party shall: (a) publicly file the document with the proposed redactions, and (b) electronically file under seal a copy of the unredacted document with the redactions highlighted. Both documents must be electronically filed through the ECF system and related to the motion. To be approved, any redaction or sealing of a court filing must be narrowly tailored to serve whatever purpose justifies the redaction or sealing and must be otherwise consistent with the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents. See Lugosch v. Pyramid Co. of Onondaga, 435 F.3d 110, 119-20 (2d Cir. 2006). In general, the parties' consent or the fact that information is subject to a confidentiality agreement between litigants is not, by itself, a valid basis to overcome the presumption in favor of public access to judicial documents. See, e.g., In re Gen. Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litig., No. 14-MD-2543 (JMF), 2015 WL 4750774, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 11, 2015). The party seeking leave to file sealed or redacted materials should meet and confer with any opposing parties (or third parties seeking confidential treatment of the information, if any) in advance to narrow the scope of the request. When a party seeks leave to file sealed or redacted materials on the ground that an opposing party or third party has requested it, that party shall notify the opposing party or third party that it must file, within three days, a letter explaining the need to seal or redact the materials. Any party unable to comply with the requirement for electronic filing under seal through the ECF system, or who has reason to believe that a particular document should not be electronically filed, must move for leave of the Court to file in the traditional manner, on paper.
content assembled from published local rules & standing orders · click any section in the rail for the full treatment
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