Northern District of California Local Rules and Judge Filing Requirements

Proposed order required with all motions and opposition papers

Parties must follow FRCP, Local Rules, and General Orders except where superseded by this standing order.

Electronic copies of proposed orders are not required unless specifically requested

Joint case management statement must be filed 7 days before conference.

Parties must review courtroom technology information on court website.

Attorney at case management conference must have full authority to make decisions, including on trial dates.

Notify Courtroom Deputy Bhavna Sharma by call and email for emergency applications.

Civil case management conferences held Thursdays at 10:00 AM in Courtroom 11.

Equipment pre-test questions go to Courtroom Deputy.

Emergency applications require calling and emailing the Courtroom Deputy.

Motion briefs limited to 15 pages (except SJ motions at 25 pages), must be on 28-line double-spaced pleading paper

Emergency applications are exempt from the 15-page brief limit.

18-month limit between initial conference and trial.

One summary judgment motion per party; additional motions require leave of court.

Joint discovery letter limited to 5 pages after live conversation.

Chambers copies must be 3-hole punched, stamped with ECF info, tabbed exhibits, and may require binding for thick exhibits.

Preliminary approval documents must be sent in Word format to specified email.

Chambers copies must be double-sided, three-hole punched, ECF stamped, and marked 'Chambers Copy -- Do Not File'

PowerPoint presentations generally not permitted during motion arguments.

Electronic filings must be text-searchable PDFs when possible.

Motions to continue hearings must be filed at least 72 hours in advance.

Reschedule requests must be in writing 10 days in advance with good cause.

Extension requests must include history of previous extensions.

Motions with less than 4 weeks between briefing close and hearing may be automatically re-noticed.

Trial dates set at initial case management conference are not continued absent compelling good cause.

Chambers copies must be delivered to Clerk's Office by noon next court day after ECF filing.

Flash drive with attachments required for ECF filings with more than 10 attachments.

Chambers copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court

Chambers copies required for specific document types including motions, briefs, and discovery dispute letters

Paper courtesy copies required for filings over 10 pages (1 set), 2 sets for pretrial conference filings.

Discovery motions must be initiated by filing notice of discovery disputes, not by filing motions directly.

Dispositive motion to dismiss allows moving CMC to 15 days after hearing.

Meet and confer in person or videoconference required before discovery disputes.

Non-discovery motions may be noticed for Thursdays at 10:00 AM with 35-day notice period

Prehearing conferences not generally held; request case management conference at least two weeks before hearing if witness testimony needed.

Documents may only be filed under seal with narrowly tailored court order meeting legal standard.

Strict compliance required with Civil Local Rule 79-5 (except 79-5(d)(2)).

Administrative motion to seal required before filing sealed documents.

Documents must comply with Civil Local Rule 79-5 for sealing, with modifications for Judge Donato's cases.

Good faith determination required before designating information as confidential.

Motions must be filed no later than three business days (excluding weekends and court holidays) after the reservation confirmation email.

Parties must file and serve joint pretrial statement at least 7 calendar days before the pretrial conference.

Joint case management statements must be filed 7 days before initial CMC; updated joint statements 7 days before subsequent CMCs. Pro se litigants may file separate statements.

Joint discovery letters must be filed no later than 7 days after the applicable discovery deadline.

Joint Case Management Statement must be filed 7 days before initial CMC and comply with Civil L.R. 16-9 and the specified standing order.

Trial dates are typically set 12-16 months after complaint filing.

Joint combined motion to seal required for unopposed sealing requests after briefing.

Matters cannot be specially set outside regular civil law and motions calendar without Court's leave.

Later-filing parties should cite to earlier exhibits and avoid duplicates; joint appendix encouraged.

At least 12 weeks required between dispositive/Daubert motions deadline and final pretrial conference.

Junior lawyers and underrepresented attorneys invited to argue motions and question witnesses

Junior lawyers (7 years or less experience) may notify Courtroom Deputy within 7 days of hearing.

Junior lawyers encouraged to argue and multiple attorneys permitted to argue

Court guarantees oral argument for lawyers with 6 or fewer years of experience

Court encourages oral argument by less-experienced attorneys.

Plaintiff must serve this order and the Joint Case Management Statement standing order on all parties within five days of complaint filing, case reassignment, or new party addition.

Parties must exchange all case-in-chief exhibits and a complete list 21 calendar days before the final pretrial conference, with voluminous exhibits reduced.

Demonstrative exhibits must be provided to opposing parties and the Court at least 24 hours before hearing, with printed copies brought to the hearing.

Parties seeking emergency relief must notify opposing party and counsel at the earliest possible time of intent to seek such relief, or relief will be denied.

Plaintiff or removing defendant must serve this Standing Order on all parties within 7 calendar days of their appearance.

Following trial, parties must coordinate with courtroom deputy to electronically file all admitted exhibits, the official court record.

Word versions of jury instructions, voir dire, and verdict form must be emailed same day as filing.

Discovery letter briefs must be e-filed under the specified category in the court’s electronic filing system.

Declarations must be filed separately from motions; exhibits to declarations must be filed separately from the declaration and other exhibits, except attachments to exhibits need not be filed separately.

Discovery dispute statements must be filed in ECF under the specified Civil Events category.