Judge Jed S. Rakoff — United States District Court, Southern District of New York

Form D

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK .............................................. X Effective January 13, 2026 NOTICE OF COURT CONFERENCE (JSR) Plaintiff(s), -v- Defendant(s). USDCSDNY DOCUMENT ELECTRO NI CALLY FILED DOC# __ _ DATE FILED: .............................................. X To: The Attorney(s) for Plaintiff(s): The Honorable Jed S. Rak.off, U.S.D.J., has ordered that counsel for all parties attend a conference, at the time and place fixed below, for the purpose of case management and scheduling pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 16. You are directed to furnish all attorneys in this action with copies of this notice and enclosures, and to furnish Chambers with a copy of any transmittal letter(s). If you are unaware of the identity of counsel for any of the parties, you should send a copy of the notice and rules to that party personally, informing the party that any unrepresented party is required to appear at the telephonic conference, in person. Since this case has been designated an electronic case, by the date of the initial pretrial conference counsel for all parties are required to register as filing users in accordance with the Procedures for Electronic Case Filing and file a Notice of Appearance. DATE AND PLACE OF CONFERENCE: ___ _, ON A TELECONFERENCE LINE AT ______ . The dial-in information for the call will be as follows: USA Toll-Free: (855) 244- 8681; Access Code: 23174323257. No application for adjournment will be considered unless made within one week of the date of this notice. The fact that any party has not answered the complaint does not excuse attendance by that party or warrant any adjournment of the conference. No later than one week prior to the conference, the parties shall furnish the Court with a written report of their agreements or disagreements regarding planning of discovery pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(t). Enclosed is a form (Form D) for a Case Management Plan that the parties may utilize in making this report. In the absence of agreement, the Court, after hearing from counsel, will order a Case Management Plan and schedule at the conference. Absent extraordinary circumstances, the Plan shall provide that the case be ready for trial within five months of the date of the conference. In addition to the matters covered in Form D, counsel should also be prepared to address at the conference the factual and legal bases for their claims or defenses, any issue as to subject matter jurisdiction, and any other issue relevant to case management. SO ORDERED. DATED: New York, New York January 15, 2026 SJ c:Jod ~- ~ff JED S. RAKOFF, U.S.D.J.

Revised Form D-For cases assigned to Judge Rakoff Effective January 13, 2026 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN (JUDGE RAKOFF) .............................................. X (JSR) Plaintiff( s ), -v- Defendant(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X This Court requires that this case shall be ready for trial on After consultation with counsel for the parties, the following Case Management Plan is adopted. This plan is also a scheduling order pursuant to Rules 16 and 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. A. The case (is) (is not) to be tried to a jury. [Circle as appropriate] B. Joinder of additional parties must be accomplished by ________ _ C. Amended pleadings may be filed without leave of Court until ________ _ D. Discovery (in addition to the disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)):

1. Documents. First request for production of documents, if any, must be served by _________ . Further document requests may be served as required, but no document request may be served later than 30 days prior to the date of the close of discovery as set forth in item 6 below.
2. Interrogatories. Interrogatories pursuant to Rule 33.3(a) of the Local Civil Rules of the Southern District of New York must be served by --------=· No other interrogatories are permitted except upon prior express permission of Judge Rakoff. No Rule 33.3(a) interrogatories need be served with respect to disclosures automatically required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a).
3. Experts. Every party-proponent of a claim (including any counterclaim, cross-claim, or third- party claim) that intends to offer expert testimony in respect of such claim must make the disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) by ________ . Every party-opponent of such claim that intends to offer expert testimony in opposition to such claim must make the disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2) by ________ . No expert testimony (whether designated as "rebuttal" or otherwise) will be permitted by other experts or beyond the scope of the opinions covered by the aforesaid disclosures except upon prior express permission of

E the Court, application for which must be made no later than 10 days after the date specified in the immediately preceding sentence. All experts may be deposed, but such depositions must occur within the time limit for all depositions set forth below. 4. Depositions. All depositions (including any expert depositions, see item 3 above) must be completed by _________ . Unless counsel agree otherwise or the Court so orders, depositions shall not commence until all parties have completed the initial disclosures required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(l) or until four weeks from the date of this Order, whichever is earlier. Depositions shall proceed concurrently, with no party having priority, and no deposition shall extend beyond one business day without prior leave of the Court. 5. Requests to Admit. Requests to Admit, if any, must be served by--------~ [insert date that is no later than 30 days prior to date of close of discovery as set forth in item 6 below]. 6. All discovery is to be completed by _________ . Interim deadlines for items 1-5 above may be extended by the parties on consent without application to the Court, provided the parties are certain they can still meet the discovery completion date set forth in this paragraph. The discovery completion date may be adjourned only upon a showing to the Court of extraordinary circumstances, and may not be extended on consent. Post-discovery summary judgment motions in the form prescribed by the Court's Individual Rules of Practice may be brought on without further consultation with the Court provided that a Notice of any such motion, in the form specified in the Court's Individual Rules of Practice, is filed no later than one week following the close-of-discovery date (item D-6 above) and provided that the moving papers are served by _________ , answering papers by ________ _, and reply papers by _________ [the last of these days being no later than six weeks following the close of discovery]. Each party must file its respective papers with the Clerk of the Court on the same date that such papers are served. Additionally, on the same date that any papers are served and filed, counsel filing and serving the papers must arrange to deliver courtesy non-electronic hard copies to the Courthouse for delivery to Chambers. F A final pre-trial conference, as well as oral argument on any post-discovery summary judgment motions, shall be held on _________ [date to be inserted by the Court], at which time the Court shall set a firm trial date. The timing and other requirements for the Joint Pretrial Order and/or other pre-trial submissions shall be governed by the Court's Individual Rules of Practice. G All motions and applications shall be governed by Judge Rakoffs Individual Rules of Practice. Counsel shall promptly familiarize themselves with all of the Court's Individual Rules, as well as with the Local Rules for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. ·so ORDERED. JED S. RAKOFF, U.S.D.J.

Individual Rules of Practice

Effective June 3, 2024

INDIVIDUAL RULES OF PRACTICE - HON. JED S. RAKOFF

Chambers Courtroom Room 1340 Room 14-B United States Courthouse United States Courthouse 500 Pearl Street 500 Pearl Street New York, NY 10007 New York, NY 10007 (212) 805-0401 (212) 805-0129 RakoffNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov

Written or E-mail Communications

(a) All communications with Chambers must be by means of joint telephone calls, as described in Rule 2, infra. Correspondence with the Court (whether by letter, email, or otherwise), filing correspondence on ECF or docketing correspondence with the Clerk of Court, and copying the Court on correspondence with others, is strictly forbidden, except as specifically authorized by these rules or expressly requested by the Court. Even if the Court emails an order, opinion, or other communication to the parties, the parties may not respond by email unless the Court directs them to do so. (b) Where specifically authorized by these rules or expressly requested by the Court, e-mail communication shall be sent to RakoffNYSDChambers@nysd.uscourts.gov as .pdf attachments with copies simultaneously delivered to all counsel. Emails shall state clearly in the subject line (i) the full caption of the case, including the party names and docket number, and (ii) the contents of the email. The beginning of the email communication must clearly

state the contents and purpose of the email. Copies of correspondence between counsel shall not be sent to the Court.

Oral Communication; Motions and Applications

(a) No ex parte communication with Chambers is permitted, even on consent of opposing counsel, except for those limited applications in criminal cases expressly permitted by statute to be made ex parte or when counsel for a party has not yet entered a notice of appearance. Counsel for all affected parties must be on the line whenever a telephone call to Chambers is placed; however, all similarly situated parties may, if they wish, designate a “lead” counsel in advance to represent them on any such call. All attorneys participating in a phone conference with Chambers must have appeared on the docket or have filed a motion for pro hac vice admission. The Judge and/or his clerks are normally available to receive telephone calls between 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. If calling within these hours, counsel need not schedule a telephone call to Chambers in advance. Please first provide the docket number of the case when a Chambers staff member answers the telephone. If all lines are busy, the call will be transferred to voicemail. Any message left on the Chambers voicemail or with Chambers staff must include the docket number of the case and the names and telephone numbers of all participating counsel.

On calls to Chambers, parties should be prepared to state clearly and succinctly (1) the nature of their application (the relief requested of the Court); (2) the reasons for their application; and (3) whether a given application is opposed by another party. If the dispute concerns a specific document (e.g., a discovery request), the party making the application should be prepared to email a copy of the document to Chambers during the

call, should the Court request it. (b) In order to bring on any contemplated motion or application of any kind whatever, excepting only a motion for admission pro hac vice (which may be filed without prior authorization) or the ex parte criminal applications referred to above, counsel for all affected parties must jointly call Chambers in the manner prescribed above. No party will ever be denied the right to make a motion permitted by law; but if the Court determines that the matter can be resolved telephonically, it will hear the application or motion immediately and issue a ruling then or shortly thereafter (orally, or, if so requested by counsel, in writing). If, conversely, the matter requires motion papers and/or in-court argument, a schedule for same will be determined at the time of the call. In criminal cases, however, any party can demand that any non-scheduling matter brought up in a telephone conference be the subject of an in-court hearing before decision. (c) If counsel for any party seeks to convene a call to Chambers, counsel for all other affected parties are expected to make themselves available for such a call within 24 hours of the request. If, after successive attempts, counsel for any affected party is unavailable for the call, the initiating party may then send Chambers and all affected counsel an email or a letter, not to exceed two double-spaced pages, describing the efforts made to convene a conference call and briefly describing the proposed motion or application. In such a case, per Rule l, supra, no reply or other correspondence is permitted, but a conference with the Court will be promptly arranged. Notwithstanding these rules applicable to parties represented by counsel, if one of the parties is an incarcerated person proceeding pro se, the initiating party may send all affected counsel, the pro se party, and Chambers a letter describing the application. (d) Where motion papers are necessary, counsel for the

moving party, following the scheduling of the motion, shall file a short Notice of Motion setting forth a one-sentence description of the motion, the schedule for service and filing of the various parties’ papers, and the date and time of oral argument as set by the Court. Motion papers shall consist of moving papers, answering papers, and the moving party’s reply papers (when permitted). Any legal memoranda must include a table of authorities, arranged alphabetically, with case citations including accurate pin or jump citations. Each party must file its respective papers with the Clerk of the Court on the same date that such papers are served. Counsel should be prepared to provide hard copies of motion papers if requested; however, courtesy copies of motion papers should not be provided absent explicit request (although counsel should note that other provisions of these rules require hard-copy courtesy copies for various pre-trial filings). (e) Unless otherwise specified by the Court, any memorandum of law submitted with the moving papers or the answering papers on any motion is limited to 25 double-spaced pages, and any reply memorandum is limited to 10 double-spaced pages. Both the text and footnotes in such memoranda of law must be in 12 point type on 8½ by 11 inch paper (or the electronic equivalent), with Times New Roman type preferred. If the Court permits letter briefing in lieu of formal memoranda, the rule on font size for text and footnotes still applies. With respect to motions for summary judgment, Local Civil Rule 56.1 will be strictly enforced. Citations to the record in any memorandum of law filed in connection with a motion for summary judgment must include a citation to the party’s Local Civil Rule 56.1 Statement of Material Fact or opposition thereto. (f) All documents filed on ECF must be word-searchable to the extent reasonably practicable.

Initial Conferences and Civil Discovery

(a) In civil cases, an initial conference will be held no later than six weeks after filing of the Complaint (and often earlier) regardless of whether issue has been joined.
(b) No later than three business days prior to the initial conference, the parties to a civil case must email Chambers a written report of their agreements or disagreements regarding case management and discovery and a proposed Case Management Plan in a form corresponding to the Court’s Case Management Order Form (Form D). In formulating their Case Management Plan, the parties should bear in mind that all discovery and post-discovery motion practice must be completed prior to the trial-ready date set by the Court, which will appear on the Form D furnished to the parties along with the notice of the initial conference. This may not be the actual trial date, but will be the date following which the parties will not be heard to complain that they are not ready for trial. Interrogatories are strictly limited to those authorized by Local Civil Rule 33.3(a), and no deposition may extend beyond one business day without prior leave of the Court. At the initial conference, the Court will issue a binding Case Management Order that, in most cases, will require the case to be ready for trial within five months of the date thereof. If the parties submit a proposed case management plan that makes any modification to the Court’s Case Management Order Form (Form D) other than filling in the blank lines, they must submit a redline indicating any change from the Court’s Form D. (c) In criminal cases, an initial conference with the Court will be held promptly after presentment before a Magistrate Judge. At this conference, in addition to arraignment, the Court will set a schedule for the completion of discovery and the filing of any motions. Where motions are permitted, the length and format of any

memoranda of law must be in accordance with Rule 2(e), supra. The Court does not participate in the S.D.N.Y. Plan for Certain § 1983 Cases Against the City of New York.

Trial-Pending Exchanges and Pretrial Orders in Civil Cases

(a) The trial-pending exchanges among the parties mandated by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3) shall be strictly enforced, except that the disclosures prescribed therein may be made 21 (instead of 30) days before trial. (b) In addition, in all civil cases, the parties shall jointly file with the Court, no later than one week prior to trial, a proposed Pretrial Consent Order (plus a courtesy hard copy of same for submission to Chambers) consisting of the following items: (i) A joint overview of the case. (ii) A particularized description of each party’s remaining claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, or third-party claims (failure to specify which will be deemed a waiver). (iii) A particularized statement of the specific facts, stipulations, admissions, and other matters on which the parties agree. (iv) Each party’s particularized contentions as to the specific facts that are disputed. (In addition, in non- jury cases, the parties, following trial, will be required to submit proposed findings of fact, with citations to the record, and proposed conclusions of law.) (v) A particularized statement of the injunctive relief, declaratory relief, and/ or damages claimed (including amounts) for each claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim.

(vi) A list of the names of the witnesses (both fact witnesses and expert witnesses) that each party intends to call, in the likely order of appearance. This should be a final and binding list, without qualifications or reservations. A witness whose name appears on the list of more than one party will testify only once but may be examined at that time by all parties on all relevant matters. (vii) A list of all exhibits to be offered by each party, and particularized objections thereto noted in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3). (viii) A final estimate of the length of trial (assuming a typical trial day of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Pretrial Exchanges in Criminal Cases

Each of the parties in a criminal case must submit to the Court at least 30 days before trial any disclosures pertaining to expert witnesses under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 16. Each of the parties in a criminal case must deliver to the Courthouse mailroom for delivery directly to Chambers at least three business days before trial: (a) a final and binding list of the witnesses that the party expects to call (other than the defendant), in the likely order of appearance, and (b) a list of the exhibits that the party expects to offer on its direct case.

Deposition Transcripts and Trial Exhibits

(a) In all civil cases, the parties shall deliver to the Courthouse mailroom for delivery directly to Chambers at least three business days before trial marked-up copies of the portions

of transcripts of depositions intended to be read into evidence, with particularized objections noted thereon in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(3). (b) In all civil and criminal trials, the parties during trial shall tender to the bench two copies of any exhibit a party seeks to offer into evidence at the same time the party hands the original exhibit to a witness during an examination. Plaintiff’s and defendant’s exhibits shall both be marked by numbers (e.g., “Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1,” “Defendant’s Exhibit 1”). (c) Parties are not required to provide the Court with copies of exhibits in advance of trial, but are expected to have all exhibits available on the morning of the start of trial.

Proposed Jury Charges

In all jury cases, whether civil or criminal, proposed jury charges must be submitted to the Court at least one week before trial. Any proposed jury charge submitted thereafter will not be considered by the Court, except upon a showing that the proposed charge relates to an issue that could not reasonably have been expected to arise at trial. In addition, the Court’s standard practice is to give the jury a one-page preliminary instruction shortly before or after opening statements, highlighting some of the issues and legal requirements in the case. The parties should submit their proposals in that regard at least three business days before trial.

Proposed Voir Dire Requests

In all jury cases, whether civil or criminal, proposed voir dire requests must be submitted to the Court at least three business days before the start of jury selection. In both civil

and criminal cases, the jury will be selected by the traditional “jury box” method. The Court does not use jury questionnaires. Except in rare circumstances, the Court will conduct all questioning at voir dire.

Motions in Limine

Motions in limine are not a matter of right and should be largely limited to critical matters on which pre-trial rulings are critical. After a trial date is set, any party, without further leave of Court, may serve such a motion directed at limiting the proof at trial, provided the motion is served upon all parties by no later than two weeks before trial. All such motions in limine, and any opposition thereto, must be filed with the Clerk of the Court and courtesy copies submitted to Chambers at least one week before trial. Any party referencing a proposed trial exhibit in such motion papers must submit a courtesy copy of that exhibit to the Court along with the motion papers. Such motions will normally be resolved by the Court on the morning of the first day of trial. Each motion in limine is limited to 15 double-spaced pages, but each party is strictly limited to 30 total double-spaced pages for all motions in limine combined, unless it seeks leave of the Court for a greater page limit no later than two weeks before trial.

Stipulations of Settlement and Discontinuance

No adjournments will be granted on the grounds of settlement unless the parties have submitted to Chambers a stipulation or letter on behalf of all parties affirming that the case has been finally settled and that the Court may dismiss the case with prejudice. Except for good cause shown, no such stipulation shall

be accepted that provides for re-opening of the case more than 30 days after dismissal or that provides for the Court to retain jurisdiction for more than 30 days following dismissal except to enforce injunctive relief.

Summations in Civil Cases

In all civil trials, plaintiff’s counsel will sum up first, followed by defendant’s counsel. Where there is only one defense summation, plaintiff’s counsel will normally not be permitted a rebuttal summation except in unusual circumstances. Where there are two or more defense summations, plaintiff’s counsel will normally be permitted a brief rebuttal.

Sentencing

Sentencing will normally take place within 90 days of the entry of a guilty plea or finding of guilt at trial, except in the case of defendants who have entered into “cooperation agreements” with the Government. With respect to cooperating defendants, counsel will be required at the time of plea to propose a sentencing date that will give the defendant adequate opportunity to demonstrate substantial assistance and provide the Court with adequate opportunity to assess such assistance. If adopted by the Court, such sentencing date will not be further extended except upon a showing of unusual circumstances, and in no event will sentencing be adjourned beyond three years from the date of plea. Any written submission relating to any sentence must be submitted to the Court at least one week before the date of sentencing, and any response thereto must be submitted to the Court at least two business days before the date of sentencing.

“Brady” Disclosures Materials and information required to be disclosed pursuant to Brady v. Maryland and its progeny (“Brady Material”) – whether in written or recorded format, or otherwise – must be disclosed to defense counsel according to the following schedule: (1) Brady Material known to the Government at the time of indictment – other than purely impeachment materials and information required to be produced pursuant to Giglio v. United States and its progeny (“Giglio Material”) – must be produced to defense counsel no later than two weeks following the date of the filing of the indictment, regardless of whether the parties are engaged in plea discussions. Such Brady Material includes (simply by way of example) not only information that tends to exculpate a defendant or support a potential defense to the charged offense(s), but also information that tends to mitigate the degree of the defendant’s culpability or to mitigate punishment. Also, this requirement applies regardless of whether the Government credits the Brady Material. (2) Brady Material (other than Giglio Material) that becomes known to the Government following filing of the indictment must be disclosed, absent exceptional circumstances, within two weeks of when it becomes known and, in any event, no later than four weeks prior to any trial or guilty plea. (3) Absent exceptional circumstances, Giglio Material must be disclosed four weeks prior to the date of the start of trial or guilty plea. Such material includes (simply by way of example) a witness’s prior inconsistent statements, written or oral; benefits given and promises made to the witness; information that tends to show that the witness has a personal motive to inculpate the defendant; and information that tends to show that the witness has a physical or mental impairment that could affect the witness’s

ability to perceive, recall, or recount relevant events. Giglio Material developed less than four weeks before trial (e.g., as a result of further interviews of witnesses) must be disclosed immediately.
(4) To achieve adequate compliance with the foregoing rules, the Government has a continuing obligation to seek Brady Material and Giglio Material from law enforcement and regulatory agencies that are or have been involved in the prosecution of the defendant or in parallel proceedings or investigations involving the defendant.
(5) The above time-tables, being necessary to fulfill the constitutional obligations imposed by Brady v. Maryland, Giglio v. United States, and their progeny, apply regardless of whether the Brady Material and Giglio Material also happen to be producible pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or the Jencks Act and the time-tables applicable thereto. (6) For good cause shown, the Government may seek a protective order delaying disclosure of such materials and information, but applications for such orders should only be made in exceptional circumstances.

Protective Orders and Filing of Documents Under Seal

(a) All parties that wish to propose a protective order must, after receiving the Court’s permission in accordance with Rule 2(b), supra, submit a proposed protective order that conforms as closely as possible with the Court’s Model Protective Order, which is available on the Judge’s website. If the parties alter the Court’s Model Protective Order in any way other than conforming the caption and signatures, they must provide a redline indicating all such modifications by email to Chambers. (b) Unless the Protective Order approved in a case provides

otherwise, parties must request the Court’s permission, in accordance with Rule 2(b), supra, to file documents under seal. The Court’s Model Protective Order does not provide such permission. Parties are expected to provide the Court with notice at least three business days before the relevant filing deadline if they wish to file documents under seal. (c) No document may be filed under seal without prior application to the Court as described above. After obtaining the Court’s leave, the document must be filed under seal in the ECF system. Where a party has received approval to redact information from a document that is to be publicly filed, that party shall publicly file the document with the redactions, and electronically file under seal a copy of the unredacted document. Both documents must be electronically filed through the ECF system. When filing documents under seal, parties are expected to provide the Court electronic copies of the underlying documents via email. If hard copies are necessary, they will be requested.

Electronics Orders

The Court welcomes parties to use technology appropriately in the courtroom. Should any counsel seek to bring an electronic device into the courthouse or seek access to the courthouse WiFi, they should email the Courthouse’s Fillable Form for Electronic Devices to Judge Rakoff’s Courtroom Deputy, Linda Kotowski, at linda_kotowski@nysd.uscourts.gov.

Model Protective Order

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

X,

Plaintiffs,

                    v. 

X,

Defendants.

  ##-CV-#### (JSR) 

PROTECTIVE ORDER

JED S. RAKOFF, U.S.D.J. The parties having agreed to the following terms of confidentiality, and the Court having found that good cause exists for issuance of an appropriately tailored confidentiality order governing the pre-trial phase of this action, it is therefore hereby ORDERED that any person subject to this Order -- including without limitation the parties to this action, their representatives, agents, experts and consultants, all third parties providing discovery in this action, and all other interested persons with actual or constructive notice of this Order -- shall adhere to the following terms, upon pain of contempt: 1. Any person subject to this Order who receives from any other person any “Discovery Material” (i.e., information of any kind provided in the course of discovery in this action) that is

designated as “Confidential” pursuant to the terms of this Order shall not disclose such Confidential Discovery Material to anyone else except as expressly permitted hereunder. 2. The person producing any given Discovery Material may designate as Confidential only such portion of such material as consists of: (a) previously nondisclosed financial information (including without limitation profitability reports or estimates, percentage fees, design fees, royalty rates, minimum guarantee payments, sales reports and sale margins); (b) previously nondisclosed material relating to ownership or control of any non-public company; (c) previously nondisclosed business plans, product development information, or marketing plans; (d) any information of a personal or intimate nature regarding any individual; or (e) any other category of information hereinafter given confidential status by the Court. 3. With respect to the Confidential portion of any Discovery Material other than deposition transcripts and exhibits, the producing person or that person's counsel may designate such portion as “Confidential” by stamping or otherwise clearly marking as “Confidential” the protected portion in a manner that will not

interfere with legibility or audibility, and by also producing for future public use another copy of said Discovery Material with the confidential information redacted. With respect to deposition transcripts and exhibits, a producing person or that person's counsel may indicate on the record that a question calls for Confidential information, in which case the transcript of the designated testimony shall be bound in a separate volume and marked "Confidential Information Governed by Protective Order" by the reporter. 4. If at any time prior to the trial of this action, a producing person realizes that some portion[s] of Discovery Material that that person previously produced without limitation should be designated as Confidential, he may so designate by so apprising all parties in writing, and such designated portion[s] of the Discovery Material will thereafter be treated as Confidential under the terms of this Order. 5. No person subject to this Order other than the producing person shall disclose any of the Discovery Material designated by the producing person as Confidential to any other person whomsoever, except to: (a) the parties to this action; (b) counsel retained specifically for this action, including any paralegal, clerical and other assistant employed by such counsel and assigned to this matter;

(c) as to any document, its author, its addressee, and any other person indicated on the face of the document as having received a copy; (d) any witness who counsel for a party in good faith believes may be called to testify at trial or deposition in this action, provided such person has first executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto; (e) any person retained by a party to serve as an expert witness or otherwise provide specialized advice to counsel in connection with this action, provided such person has first executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto; (f) stenographers engaged to transcribe depositions conducted in this action; and (g) the Court and its support personnel. 6. Prior to any disclosure of any Confidential Discovery Material to any person referred to in subparagraphs 5(d) or 5(e) above, such person shall be provided by counsel with a copy of this Protective Order and shall sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement in the form annexed as an Exhibit hereto stating that that person has read this Order and agrees to be bound by its terms. Said counsel shall retain each signed Non-Disclosure Agreement, hold it in escrow, and produce it to opposing counsel either prior to such

person being permitted to testify (at deposition or trial) or at the conclusion of the case, whichever comes first. 7. All Confidential Discovery Material filed with the Court, and all portions of pleadings, motions or other papers filed with the Court that disclose such Confidential Discovery Material, shall be filed under seal with the Clerk of the Court and kept under seal until further order of the Court. The parties will use their best efforts to minimize such sealing. In any event, any party filing a motion or any other papers with the Court under seal shall also publicly file a redacted copy of the same, via the Court’s Electronic Case Filing system, that redacts only the Confidential Discovery Material itself, and not text that in no material way reveals the Confidential Discovery Material. 8. Any party who either objects to any designation of confidentiality, or who, by contrast, requests still further limits on disclosure (such as “attorneys’ eyes only” in extraordinary circumstances), may at any time prior to the trial of this action serve upon counsel for the designating person a written notice stating with particularity the grounds of the objection or request. If agreement cannot be reached promptly, counsel for all affected persons will convene a joint telephone call with the Court to obtain a ruling. 9. All persons are hereby placed on notice that the Court is unlikely to seal or otherwise afford confidential treatment to

any Discovery Material introduced in evidence at trial, even if such material has previously been sealed or designated as Confidential. The Court also retains unfettered discretion whether or not to afford confidential treatment to any Confidential Document or information contained in any Confidential Document submitted to the Court in connection with any motion, application, or proceeding that may result in an order and/or decision by the Court. 10. Each person who has access to Discovery Material that has been designated as Confidential shall take all due precautions to prevent the unauthorized or inadvertent disclosure of such material. 11. If, in connection with this litigation, a party inadvertently discloses information subject to a claim of attorney-client privilege or attorney work product protection (“Inadvertently Disclosed Information”), such disclosure shall not constitute or be deemed a waiver or forfeiture of any claim of privilege or work product protection with respect to the Inadvertently Disclosed Information and its subject matter. 12. If a disclosing party makes a claim of inadvertent disclosure, the receiving party shall not thereafter review the Inadvertently Disclosed Information for any purpose, except by order of the Court. The receiving party shall, within five business days, return or destroy all copies of the Inadvertently

Disclosed Information, and provide a certification of counsel that all such information has been returned or destroyed. 13. Within five business days of the notification that such Inadvertently Disclosed Information has been returned or destroyed, the disclosing party shall produce a privilege log with respect to the Inadvertently Disclosed Information. 14. As with any information redacted or withheld, the receiving party may move the Court for an Order compelling production of the Inadvertently Disclosed Information. The motion shall be filed under seal, and shall not assert as a ground for entering such an Order the fact or circumstances of the inadvertent production. 15. The disclosing party retains the burden of establishing the privileged or protected nature of any Inadvertently Disclosed Information. Nothing in this Order shall limit the right of any party to request an in camera review of the Inadvertently Disclosed Information. 16. This Protective Order shall survive the termination of the litigation. Within 30 days of the final disposition of this action, all Discovery Material designated as “Confidential,” and all copies thereof, shall be promptly returned to the producing person, or, upon permission of the producing person, destroyed. 17. This Court shall retain jurisdiction over all persons subject to this Order to the extent necessary to enforce any

obligations arising hereunder or to impose sanctions for any contempt thereof.

SO STIPULATED AND AGREED.

Dated:

Dated:

SO ORDERED.

JED S. RAKOFF, U.S.D.J.

Dated: New York, New York

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

X,

Plaintiffs,

                    v. 

X,

Defendants.

  ##-CV-#### (JSR) 

NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

I, , acknowledge that I have read and understand the Protective Order in this action governing the non- disclosure of those portions of Discovery Material that have been designated as Confidential. I agree that I will not disclose such Confidential Discovery Material to anyone other than for purposes of this litigation and that at the conclusion of the litigation I will return all discovery information to the party or attorney from whom I received it. By acknowledging these obligations under the Protective Order, I understand that I am submitting myself to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for the purpose of any issue or dispute arising hereunder and that my willful violation of any term of the Protective Order could subject me to punishment for contempt of Court. Dated: ___________

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