Southern District of New York Local Rules and Judge Filing Requirements
Filing requirements from local rules, individual practices, standing orders, and published court policies for Southern District of New York
Federal court local rules are only the first layer. These filing requirements come from individual judges' practices, standing orders, and policies published by the Southern District of New York. They supplement the district local rules and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Requirements vary significantly between judges in the same district, so always verify the specific rules for your assigned judge.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Pro se parties must be served on letters/motions from represented parties
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Correspondence between counsel should not be filed on ECF or sent to the Court.
- Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause
All motions must follow the Court's Individual Practices.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
File letters seeking relief as letter-motions on ECF, not ordinary letters.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Adjournment requests on ECF require simultaneous hard copy or fax to Chambers.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Communications with chambers must be via ECF motion/letter, not email/fax/phone/hard copy
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Faxes to Chambers are prohibited unless prior approval is obtained.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Telephone calls to Chambers only permitted in emergencies with all counsel present.
- Judge Colleen McMahon
Civil conferences available by phone/Skype; requests to Deputy Clerk at Mariela_DeJesus@nysd.uscourts.gov.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Adjournment requests must be faxed to specific number.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Sealed/redacted filings require letter-motion filed electronically on ECF
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Must confer with adversary before seeking TRO unless Rule 65(b) requirements are met.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Ex parte TRO applications must be filed under seal on ECF or emailed to Chambers.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Court records and dockets presumptively open to public inspection.
- Magistrate Judge Gary Stein
Procedures required for filing documents under seal or with redactions
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Adjournment/extension requests must be made by letter-motion
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Adjournment/extension requests must include original due date, previous requests, reason, adversary consent, and proposed dates.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Adjournment/extension requests must be filed as letter-motions on ECF.
- Judge Colleen McMahon
Blanket extension for filing papers expires May 15, 2020; counsel must apply for extensions thereafter.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Adjournment/extension requests require 48-hour advance written notice with specific required elements.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Letter-motions must be filed using the letter-motion option for specific requests
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Motions in limine must be filed via ECF with specific briefing deadlines.
- Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause
Joint letter required within 14 days of discovery close for summary judgment motions.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Pre-motion conferences required only for discovery disputes.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Pre-motion conferences are not required.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Courtesy copies required for letters/motions with multiple attachments
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
No courtesy copies required for letters filed on ECF.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Courtesy copies are not permitted unless otherwise ordered.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Voluminous exhibits may be submitted by CD with Chambers approval; courtesy copies must not have plastic covers.
- Magistrate Judge Gary Stein
Courtesy copies required for ex parte settlement letters with exhibits over 10 pages.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Letters and letter-motions limited to 2000 words (4 pages) without advance permission
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Letters to the Court are limited to 3 pages (excluding exhibits).
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Letters seeking relief must be filed as letter-motions and are limited to 3 pages.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
No page limits for briefs.
- Magistrate Judge Gary Stein
Ex parte settlement letters must not exceed 5 pages single-spaced.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Courtesy copies must include ECF header and protruding tabs for exhibits.
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Media files must be in common player-compatible format.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Hard copy exhibits must be pre-marked and assembled in binders not exceeding 2.5 inches or in labeled manila folders within redweld folders.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Faxes limited to 5 pages without special permission, only for urgent matters, adjournment requests, or technology requests.
- Magistrate Judge Gary Stein
Letters filed on ECF must be in searchable PDF format.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Privilege logs must be promptly produced and updated on a rolling basis as documents are produced.
- Judge Colleen McMahon
Date and hour calculations use FRCP 6 for civil matters and FRCP 45 for criminal matters.
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Motions to amend pleadings or join additional parties must be filed within 30 days following the initial pretrial conference, absent exceptional circumstances.
- Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis
Pre-plea submissions must be emailed to WillisCriminalDuty@nysd.uscourts.gov at least 24 hours before the plea.
- Judge Jeannette A. Vargas
The recusal letter must be filed before any appearance before or application made to Judge Vargas, and in any event no later than 10 calendar days from assignment of the matter.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
All attorneys appearing before the Court must file a notice of appearance on ECF.
- Judge Colleen McMahon
Pro se litigants must submit all hard-copy filings to the Pro Se Intake Unit, not to Chambers.
- Judge Jennifer L. Rochon
Letters to the Court must be filed electronically on ECF; letters seeking relief should be filed as letter motions, not ordinary letters.
- Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis
Letters to the Court should be filed on ECF, except for settlement conference submissions and in camera submissions.
- Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil
All documents must be filed on ECF or emailed to Chambers; paper submissions to Chambers are prohibited.
- Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses
Court encourages junior lawyer participation in proceedings, allowing second lawyer to handle portions of proceedings.
- Judge Gregory H. Woods
Court encourages providing speaking opportunities to junior lawyers.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Court encourages junior attorney participation in proceedings.
- Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein
Oral argument rarely granted; more likely if junior lawyer (admitted within 5 years) argues.
- Judge Analisa Torres
Oral argument is not heard in pro se matters unless otherwise ordered.
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Non-moving parties electing to amend under Rule 15(a)(1) after motion to dismiss must notify court and adversary within 10 days of motion receipt with intended filing date.
- Judge Colleen McMahon
Default judgment motions must be served on the defendant in the same manner as a summons (same as service of process).
- Judge Jennifer L. Rochon
Plaintiff's counsel (or Defendant's counsel in removed actions) must promptly distribute copies of the Notice of Initial Pretrial Conference to all parties.
- Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis
Pro se parties must mail all communications with the Court to the Pro Se Intake Unit at 500 Pearl St., Room 230, New York, NY 10007.
- Judge Katherine Polk Failla
If applicable, plaintiffs must provide HIPAA-compliant medical records release authorizations to defendants by the deadline set in the Case Management Plan (date left blank in the form).
- Judge Arun Subramanian
Motions in limine must be bundled into a single memorandum per party unless court grants leave.
- Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
Motion papers must be filed promptly after service.
- Judge Analisa Torres
Motion papers must be filed promptly after service
- Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause
Motion papers must be filed promptly after service.
- Visiting Alison J. Nathan
Motion papers must be filed promptly after service.