Hon. Jed S. Rakoff

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 6 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. Source ↗

urtesy 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. 5 Source ↗

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 3 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 4 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 memo Source ↗

• §§1(a)-(b): 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 2 state the contents and purpose of the email. Copies of correspondence between counsel shall not be sent to the Court.