Preparing for Hearings

• Pages: 19-21

Preparing for Hearings

Chapter 5

19

When you submit motions to the court that cite to a voluminous

amount of case law or other authorities, be early and organized

(actually,this approach is always needed in the practice of law; it is

the lack of doing so that often gets attorneys in hot water). Either

you or your legal assistant need to print out all the cases and au-

thorities, then tab and index them. You should make sure that a

copy of your motion, brief, and/or binder of authorities is in the

judge’s hands on the day that particular judge requires that motions

be received in advance of a hearing. Many judges require that they

receive a copy of any motion set for hearing a week to 10 days in

advance. Make sure that opposing counsel receives a mirror image

of anything you send to the judge, highlighting and document mark-

ings included. Some judges will consider even one yellow high-

light on a document to be a sanctionable ex parte communication if

the identical highlight does not exist on opposing counsel’s copy.

A court reporter should attend every hearing in your case, es-

pecially for any dispositive hearings. Have his or her cell phone

number handy so you can call if need be. If theydon’t appear,

sometimes there will be another court reporter in the vicinity of the

courtroom you may be able to hire. Failing that, you may want to

request a continuance rather than risking not having a good record

in case you need it. You never know when the opposing party or