Correspondence with the Court: Law clerks have no authority to grant continuances or to give advice on substantive or procedural matters. Therefore, unless contacted by a law clerk, counsel should not communicate with the law clerk. Telephone inquiries regarding civil and criminal cases should be directed to Brian R. Dixon, Deputy Clerk, at 610-320-5099. Email is preferred for most written correspondence with chambers, and the address is Chambers_of_Judge_Jeffrey_L_Schmehl@paed.uscourts.gov. Faxes are not accepted.

Length and content of briefs or legal memoranda: All grounds for relief should be set forth in a single, comprehensive motion. A motion to dismiss, for example, should not be divided into separate motions for each count, but rather should include all bases for relief. Any brief or memorandum should be limited to twenty-five pages. If a party requires more than twenty-five pages to explain its position to the court, a motion to exceed the page limit should be filed, setting forth good cause for granting an exception.

Any brief or memorandum should be limited to twenty-five pages.

Reply and Surreply Briefs: Reply briefs, addressing only issues raised in the brief in opposition and not repeating arguments in the brief, may be filed within seven days of service of the opponent's brief in opposition and shall be limited to ten pages. No further briefs may be filed.

Yes

Courtesy Copies: Courtesy copies shall not be provided to chambers unless the exhibits are voluminous or the case is sealed. Prior to sending courtesy copies, counsel shall contact chambers via email to determine whether courtesy copies are necessary. If advised by chambers that the Court requires courtesy copies, counsel shall mail them to The Gateway Building, 201 Penn Street, 5th floor, Reading, Pennsylvania, 19601.

Confidentiality Agreements: The court will only approve confidentiality or sealing orders for good cause shown.

Oral Argument on Motions: If the judge believes oral argument will be helpful in deciding a matter, he will schedule it, particularly when it involves a dispositive motion. A party desiring oral argument should request it by letter or in the body of the motion or responsive pleading. The ultimate decision as to the necessity of oral argument rests with the judge, and not all requests for oral argument will be granted.

Continuances and Extensions: Unless there is good cause to justify a change, the parties are expected to adhere to the dates contained in scheduling orders. Continuance requests must be put in writing via email only. The parties shall not file motions seeking continuances of deadlines. The court will grant a continuance or extension based on a stipulation of all parties if the continuance or extension does not affect the discovery cutoff or trial date. All stipulations shall be submitted directly to chambers via email and shall contain a signature and date line for Judge Schmehl to approve the stipulation. If a continuance or extension will affect the discovery cutoff or trial date, counsel should make a written request via email which sets forth the basis for the continuance or extension and indicates whether the other party or parties agree to or oppose the request.

Discovery Conferences and Dispute Resolution: Counsel for all parties are strongly encouraged to resolve discovery disputes by themselves. In the event that a discovery dispute requires court intervention, the party contemplating a motion shall seek a telephone conference with the court before filing any motion. If the telephone conference fails to resolve the discovery dispute, the party seeking relief will be permitted to file an appropriate discovery motion. The motion shall not exceed five pages, shall not contain exhibits, and shall not include a memorandum of law. The responding party may file a response within five days. This response should also be limited to five pages and shall not include exhibits or a brief or memorandum of law. Judge Schmehl permits telephone conferences to resolve disputes during depositions in cases where the deposition would otherwise have to be adjourned.