Northern District of Illinois Local Rules and Judge Filing Requirements

Defendant must number exhibits using the format 001, etc.

For a jury trial, the parties must submit proposed voir dire questions.

The witness list must include all experts who will or may testify; each party may have no more than one expert testify on a subject, and parties identifying multiple experts must briefly state each expert’s testimony topic.

Plaintiff’s counsel must provide the initial pretrial-order draft to defendant’s counsel at least 21 calendar days before the filing due date.

The exhibit list must include summary and demonstrative exhibits and identify each exhibit, its relevance, and any objection with the objection’s basis and the proponent’s admissibility theory.

Exhibits supplied to the Court must be in digital format and named using the specified convention.

Counsel should have an electronic copy of newly introduced unlisted exhibits available for the courtroom deputy whenever possible.

Responses to summary-judgment fact statements must refrain from argument.

Five business days before trial, each party must supply exhibits on USB/DVD/CD and one paper set double-sided in three-ring binders.

The Court uses Cisco Webex for videoconferences.

For complex issues requiring briefing, the Court may order additional briefing and either decide the motion on the papers or hold a hearing after briefing is complete.

The corporate or governmental entity representative’s attendance obligation applies even when an insurer will bear all settlement obligations.

Motions in limine must be filed 3 weeks before pretrial order; responses due 1 week before.

Replies may not be filed unless the Court orders otherwise.

Counsel for both sides must meet and confer to try to resolve instruction disagreements no later than 10 calendar days before trial.

The parties should notify the Court immediately if they reach an agreement before the settlement conference.

Parties needing courtroom display technology instruction may consult the court’s technology webpage or contact the Technology Administrator to schedule WebEx training.

Each party must email its settlement letter to chambers on the day it provides the letter to opposing counsel.

No contact with jurors after trial without court permission.

Exhibit chart must be submitted to Chambers by email with all counsel cc'd.

Responsive claim construction brief limited to 25 pages.

Case statement limited to 1-2 paragraphs covering case nature, claims, and defenses.

Responses to Plaintiff’s motions in limine are limited to 15 pages per side, excluding exhibits, in total across motions.

Responsive claim construction briefs are limited to 25 pages.

Plaintiff must file 10-page memorandum within 2 weeks of filing Schedule A case.

Each party must deliver the specified materials to chambers 28 days before the Pre-Trial Conference.

The mediator must email the Certification of Session report to ADR@ilnd.uscourts.gov within 14 calendar days after each mediation session closes.

The final Pretrial Order must not be filed on CM/ECF until the Court has approved and signed it.

Plaintiff must file the interrogatory answers with the Court by 42 days after the Order, and no earlier, using the specified title.

The parties must meet and confer no later than 7 days before the final pretrial order is due to discuss their drafts and reach agreement to the extent possible.

For emergency filings, the filer must bring the paper document to the court.

The jury-instructions filing must also be emailed to the specified address in Microsoft Word format on the day the pre-trial memorandum is due.

Exhibits should not be filed on CM/ECF.

Witness lists may be filed as separate ECF documents filed simultaneously with the proposed pretrial order, which must note their separate filing.

The proposed Pretrial Order should be filed on CM/ECF with a cover page containing the case caption and specified title.

At least one week before the pretrial conference, parties must provide the court two sets of binders containing copies of objected-to representative exhibits.

Each party must deliver the specified final trial materials to chambers five days after the Pre-Trial Conference.

Within one business day after filing the final pretrial order, the parties must submit one set of binders containing all objected-to substantive exhibits.

Proposed Pretrial Order must be emailed and two courtesy copies delivered to chambers.

Courtesy copies of trial-related materials are not required unless the Court specifically orders them.

Parties in ECF cases who are neither E-Filers nor represented by an E-Filer and who have not consented to electronic service are entitled to paper copies of electronically filed documents, served in accordance with the Federal Rules and local rules.

Plaintiff must separately email Defendant Microsoft Word versions of the Exhibit Chart and Deposition Designation Chart.

Receiving party must notify designating party in writing within 3 business days of subpoena/order to disclose Confidential Information.

A party claiming patent infringement must serve its Initial Infringement Contentions on all parties within 14 days after the LPR 2.1 Initial Disclosure.

For deposition testimony offered instead of live testimony, the offering party must serve page-and-line designations 10 business days before the pretrial order is due.

Early summary judgment motions permitted at judge's discretion.

Exchange voir dire questions 5 business days before due date; confer 2 business days before.

A request to be excused from in-person mediation attendance requires a showing of extraordinary hardship and must be submitted by motion no fewer than 15 calendar days before the mediation, with a copy supplied to the mediator.

Plaintiff's letter due 14 business days before; defendant's letter due 7 business days before settlement conference.

Unless exigent circumstances exist, a settlement conference may be rescheduled only by court order on a written motion that is electronically filed and emailed to the Courtroom Deputy at least 10 days beforehand.

The designating party bears the burden and expense of seeking protection in the other court, and the notification obligations remain in effect for as long as a party possesses the Confidential Information.

Counsel may retain attorney work product (without verbatim substantial Confidential Information) and one complete set of all filed documents (including sealed) after litigation, subject to the protective order.

A party must notify the producer at least five business days before publicly filing a document the producer designated as Confidential or Highly Confidential so the producer can move to seal it.

Court approval required before filing any document under seal or as restricted.

The destruction petition, the United States attorney's response, and any related chief judge order are restricted documents by default unless the court orders otherwise.

The parties must meet and confer to seek agreement on jury instructions and verdict forms and submit one combined set to the Court.

Responses to motions in limine should be consolidated into a single document.

Initial motions in limine and supporting exhibits should be submitted together in one document.

Multiple motions in limine should be filed in one document.

Exhibit submission requirements: USB drives and binders for proposed and final exhibits.

A summons will not be issued until the filing fee is paid by credit card, check, cash, or money order.

Chief Judge Kendall presumptively requires a $1,000 bond per defendant in Schedule A cases.

The Court encourages, but does not require, parties to foster professional development by giving qualifying attorneys a greater speaking role at motion hearings or settlement conferences; experienced attorneys may supervise as they wish.

The Court encourages parties and counsel to give junior lawyers opportunities for substantive participation in the settlement conference.

Junior lawyers are encouraged to substantively participate in settlement conferences.