AMENDED SCHEDULING ORDER: Joinder of Parties, Amendment of Pleadings, and Motion for Class Certification are all due 30 days after the Court's ruling on the motion to¶
Stewart v. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center et al, No. 5:23-cv-00007-H (N.D. Tex.) · Dkt. 63 · 2024-09-03 · PDF
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Case 5:23-cv-00007-H
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTR]CT OF TEXAS
LUBBOCK DIVISION
GEORGE STEWART.
Plaintiff.
No. .5:23-CV-007-H
TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY HEALTH
SCIENCES CENTER, et al.,
Defendants
AMENDED JCfIEBU.LING OBDER
I.
Summary of Critical Deadlines and Dales
Joindcr of Partics (( 2)
30 days after the Court's ruling on the
motions to dismiss
Amendment of Pleadings (tl 3)
30 days after the Court's ruling on thc
motions to dismiss
Motion for Class Certification (! 4)
30 days after the Court's ruling on thc
motions to dismiss
Initial Expert Designation & Report
Atgust 20,2024
('11
6(a))
Responsive Expert Designation & Report
(1 6(b))
October 4. 2024
Rebuttal Expcrt Designation ("ll 6(c))
Scc
Completion of Discovery (f 7)
l anuary 7 , 2025
Expcrt Objections (tl 6(d))
January 17 ,2025
Dispositive Motions (tl 5)
February 7,2025
Pretrial Disclosures and Objcctions (! tl)
May 16,2025
Prctrial Materials (!l 9)
Scc t 9
Exchangc of Exhibits (!l 9(c))
May 23,2025
Pretrial Conference (!l I l)
To be set if necessary
Trial Date ('1i l)
June 9, 2025
' 6(c)
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II.
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Schedulinglnstructions
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) and the local rules of this Court
(except as modified herein), the Court, having considered the status report submitted by the
parties, finds that the following schedule should govem the disposition of this case. Unlcss
otherwise ordered or modified by this Order, all limitations and requirements of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure and this Court's local rules must be observed.
The Court has attempted to adhere to the schedule requested by the parties. In so
doing, the Court assumes that the parties thoroughly discussed scheduling issues prior to
submitting their status report and that the parties understand that the deadlines imposed in
this Order are firmly in place, abscnt the few exceptions set forth below.
1.
Trial Date: This case is set for trial on this Court's three-week civil trial
docket beginning June 9, 2025. Counsel and the parties shall be ready for trial on three
days' notice at any time during this three-week period, unless the Court orders otherwise.l
The trial date will not be postponed or continued except on written motion establishing
exceptional circumstances and in compliance with Northern District of Texas Local Civil
Rule 40. 1.
2.
Joinder ofParties: No later than 30 days after the Court's ruling on the
motions to dismiss, all motions requesting joinder of additional parties shall be filed. Except
when parties are joined by amendment pursuant to paragraph three of this Order, parties
may be joined only upon motion to the Court.
I The Court usually schedules its criminal trials to begin the hrst Monday of cvcry month, and those
trials, if any, are usually completed within one week. lf the criminal docket is clcar by June 9, 2025,
the Coun expects to begin trial on that date. When the Court knows a definite trial date, it will
notlry the parties.
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Amendment of Pleadings: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)( I ) provides
that "[a] party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course within: (A) 21 days after
serving it, or (B) if the pleading is one to which a responsive pleading is required, 2l days
after service of a responsive pleading or 2l days after service ofa motion under [Federal
Rule of Civil Procedurel l2(b), (c), or (f), whichever is earlier." When this time period
expires or the party already has amended the pleading, this provision no longer applies, and
an amendment falls under Rule 15(aX2). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(aX2) then
provides that "[i]n all other cases, a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing
parry's wrinen consent or the court's leave." Parties may file one amended pleading, as of
course, no later than 30 days after thc Court's ruling on the motions to dismiss. The
amending party shall attach as an exhibit to the amended complaint a redlined version of
the complaint specifuing the new or altered portions. The deadline to file a response to an
amended pleading is 21 days after the date the amended pleading is served, notwithstanding
expiration ofthe amended-pleading deadline. After the 30 days after the Court's ruling on
the motions to dismiss have passed, a party may amend the pleadings only with the
opposing party's written consent or with leave ofcourt, upon a showing ofgood cause.
Plaintiffs who amended their complaint without leave of court and before serving the
defendant must obtain the defendant's written consent or leave ofcourt before f,rling another
amended complaint.
4.
Motion for Class Certification: The plaintiff shall f,rle his motion for class
certif,ication no later than 30 days after the Court's ruling on the motions to dismiss.
5.
Dispositive Motions: All motions that would dispose of all or any part of
this case, including motions for summary judgment, shall be filed by February 7 , 2025. Any
dispositive motion must be accompanied by or incorporate a briel and the motion and the
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brief may not together exceed 50 pages in length, excluding any table ofcontents and table
of authorities. See L<tc. Civ. R. 56.3, 56.5(b). Thc party filing a dispositivc motion must, in
a separate section at the beginning ofthe brief, identiS the live pleadings for each party who
has appeared in the action and specifo the name ofeach pleading, the date it was filed, and
the pleadings' document numbers on the Court's docket.
Any affrdavits, depositions, written discovery materials, or other summaryludgment
evidence must be included in a separate appendx. The appendix must be numbered
sequentially from the frst page through the last and include an index of all documents
included. An envelope that contains a non-documentary or oversized exhibit must be
numbered as if it were a single page. See Loc. Civ. R. 56.6. The moving party must bracket
in the margin of each document in the appendix the portions of the document on which the
movant relies, and, when citing record materials in its brief, the moving parry must support
each assertion by citing each relevant page of its appendix. No party may file more than
one motion for summary judgment without leave of court. Sce Loc. Civ, R. 56.2(b).
If a motion for summary judgment is timely filed, the Court may establish a
summary judgment brieflng schedule by separate order. Except as provided in the Court's
briefing order, no supplemental pleadings, briefs, summaryludgment evidence, or other
documents will be allowed in connection with the motion for summary judgmcnt or
response without leave of court. SeeLoc. Civ. R. 56.7. Cross-motions for summary
judgment shall not, except in extraordinary circumstances, be permitted to be filed after the
dispositive-motion deadline.
Neither a dispositive motion nor the brief in support may be combined in one
document with a parry's answer. If a dispositive motion becomes moot for any reason, such
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as the f,iling of an amended complaint or scttlemcnt, the moving party must notiry the Court
immcdiate ly
6.
Experts:
a. Initial Designation ofExperts: Unless otherwise stipulated or directcd by
order, the parry with the burden ofproolon the issue subject to the cxpert
designation shall file a written designation ofthe name and address ofeach
expert witness who will testiry at trial for that party and shall otherwise
comply with Fcderal Rule of Civil Proccdure 26(a)(2) on or before August 20,
2024.
b. Responsive Designation of Experts: Each party without thc burdcn ofproof
on thc issue subject to expert designation shall file a wrinen dcsignation ofthc
name and address of each expert witness who will testiry at trial for that party
and shall otherwise comply with Fcderal Rule of Civil Proccdurc 26(a)(2) on
or before October 4, 2024.
C
Rebuttal Experts: Ifthe cvidencc is intendcd solely to contradict or rebut
cvidence on thc samc subjcct matter identificd hy another party undcr Rule
26(aX2XB), the disclosures requircd under Rule 26(a)(2) shall be madc within
30 days after thc disclosure madc by the other party.
d. Challenges to Experts: Objcctions to the qualifications or competency of
experts, sometimes refcfied to as Daubert motions, must be made in a writtcn
motion Flled by no later than January 17,2025. Regardless ofany stipulation,
thc parties may not agree to extend this dcadline beyond the dispositivemotion deadline.
7.
Completion of Discovery: The parties intend to conduct discovery in
phases. By August 20, 2024, fact discovery shall be substantially completed. Class-related
discovery shall begin when the plaintifffiles his motion to certiry a class and conclude when
the defendants Frle their responses to that motion. Expert discovery shall not begin until fact
discovery is substantially complete, Expert discovery, with the exception ofany expert
discovery related to class certification, shall begin when the plaintiff provides initial expert
designations on August 20, 2024, and shall conclude by January 7 , 2025. By January 7,
2025, all discovery shall be completed. The parties may agree to extend these discovery
deadlines, provided (a) the extension does not affect the trial setting, dispositive-motions
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deadline, or preffial-submission dates; and (b) the parties give written notice ofthe extension
to the Court. A later discovery deadline will not be an excuse to delay the deadline to file
dispositive motions.
The Court expects the parties to work in good faith to resolve discovery disputes.
Any motion to compel discovery or for a protective order must be filed by the later of
(l) December 16,2024, or (2) 15 days after the discovery response at issue was served or due
to be served. Any other motions that are related to discovery but do not seek to compel or
avoid as-yet uncompleted depositions, service ofdiscovery responses, or production of
documents or electronically stored information (ESI) must be filed by January l0, 2025 .
Any motion to quash or for protective order relating to a deposition that is filed less
than 5 business days before the scheduled or noticed date of the deposition will be
summarily denied unless, on proper motion, the Court grants leave for the motion to be
filed based on a showing ofexffaordinary or extenuating circumstances that prevented the
requested relief from being presented to the Court at an earlier date.
Further, in accordance with Federal Rule ofEvidence 502(d), any attomcy-client
privilege or work-product protection will not be waived by disclosure in connection with
this case, and the production of privileged or work-product protected documents, ESI, or
information, whether inadvertent or otherwise, is not a waiver of the privilege or workproduct protection in this case or in any other federal or state proceeding. This Order will
be interpreted to provide the maximum protection allowed by Rule 502(d), but nothing
contained in this Order is intended to or will serve to limit a parry's right to conduct a
review of documents, ESl, or information (including metadata) for relevance,
responsiveness, and segregation of privileged and protected information before production.
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Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(bX5)(B), if information produced in
discovery is subject to a claim of privilcge or of protection as trial-preparation material, the
party making the claim may notify any party that receivcd the information of the claim and
the basis for it. After being notified, a party must promptly retum, sequester, or destroy the
specified information and any copies it has; must not use or disclose the information until
the claim is resolved; must take reasonable steps to retricve the information if the party
disclosed it before being notified; and may promptly present the information to the Court
under seal for a determination of the claim. The producing party must preserve the
information until the claim is resolved,
8.
Pretrial Disclosures and Objections: Unless otherwise directed by order, the
parties must make the disclosures required by Rule 26(aX3XA) by May 16, 2025. With
respect to the identification of witnesses who will be called by deposition, the parties must
also identifo the ponions of the dcposition transcript they intend to use. Within 7 days
thereafter, a party must serve and file a list disclosing any objections, together with the
grounds therefor, to (a) the use under Rule 32(a) ofa deposition designated by another party
under Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(ii); and (b) the admissibility of materials identified under Rule
26(a)(3XA)(iii). Objections not so disclosed, other than objections undcr Fedcral Rulcs of
Evidence 402 and 403, are waived unless the Court excuses the failure to disclose for good
cause. Other than exhibits on flrle with the Court, the objecting party must attach the
materials at issue to the objections. Counsel must confer about exhibits and deposition
designations and make reasonable efforts to agree on admissibitiry prior to the pretrial order
and pretrial conference, at which time the Court will rule on the admissibility of the
exhibits.
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9.
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Pretrial Materials:
a. Pretrial Order: A joint pretrial order shall bc submitted by thc plaintiff s
attorney by May 16,2025. Thc pretrial order shall address each ofthc
matters listed in Local Rule 16.4 and state the estimated length of trial. If an
attorney for eithcr party does not participate in the preparation ofthc joint
pretrial order, thc opposing attorney shall submit a separate prctrial order
with an explanation of why a joint order was not submitted (so that thc Court
can impose sanctions, ifappropriatc). Each party may prcscnt its vcrsion of
any disputcd mattcr in thc joint pretrial order; thcreforc, failure to agrcc upon
contcnt or languagc is not an cxcusc for submitting separatc pretrial orders.
When the joint pretrial order is approved by the Court, it will control all
subsequent proceedings in this case. The proposcd prctrial order must be
transmitted to the electronic address used for receipt of proposed ordcrs
(Hendrix Orders(atxnd.uscourts.gov).
b. Witness List: Each party must file a list of wimcsses who may be callcd by
cach party in its case in chief by May 16, 2025. Each wimess Ist shall contain
a brief narrative summary of thc testimony to be elicitcd from cach witncss,
state whcther the wimcss has bcen deposed, and notc whcther the witness's
testimony at trial is probable, possiblc, cxpert, or record custodian. Ifa
witness's deposition will be used in licu of live testimony, the proffering party
must also specifically state why that witness is "unavailable" as defined by
Federal Rule of Civil Procedurc 32(a)(4). If any witness needs an interprcter,
please note this on the wimess list and arrange for an interpreter to be present
at trial.
C
Exhibit List and Deposition-Testimony Designations: A list of cxhibits,
including dcmonstrativc cxhibits, and a dcsignation of portions of depositions
to be offercd at trial shall be Frlcd by each party by May 16,2025. The list ol
cxhibits shall describe with specificity the documcnts or things in numbcrcd
sequence. The documcnts or things to be offered as exhibits shall be
numbered by attachmcnt oflabels to correspond with thc sequcnce on thc
exhibit list and idcntify the party submitting the cxhibit.
Each parry's exhibit list shall bc accompanied by a written statcment, signcd
by counscl for each party, and state that, as to each exhibit shown on the list,
either (i) thc partics agree to thc exhibit's admissibility; or (ii) thc admissibility
ofthe exhibit is disputed, identifoing the nature and legal basis ofany
objection and thc name ofthc objecting party or parties. All parties shall
cooperate in causing such statements to be prepared in a timely manncr for
filing with thc exhibit lists. The Court may exclude any exhibit offercd at trial
if such a statement regarding the exhibit has not bcen filed timely. In
addition, objections not identified in the statement may be waived. A list of
each party's exhibits to which no objcction will be lodged (prcadmittcd) must
be submitted at the pretrial confcrence. The Court expects the parties to
confcr and agrec to admit the majority of their exhibits prior to trial.
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Unlcss both parties agrce to an clectronic exchange ofexhibits, counscl for
each party intending to offer exhibits shall deliver a set of marked exhibits
with opposing counsel at least l4 days beforc trial. Regardless ofwhether thc
parties have agrecd to clcctronic exchange, counscl for all parties shall delivcr
two sets of marked exhibits to the Lubbock Division's Clcrk's Office. marked
to thc attention ofJudgc Hcndrix's chambers. Exhibits are to bc placcd in
three-ring binders, the flont of the binder is to be labeled with the srylc of
case, case numbcr, namc ofthe parry, and volumc numbcr, and the spinc of
each binder should be labcled with thc appropriate exhibit numbcrs andlor
range ofexhibit numbers. The parties should makc surc that the size ofthc
exhibit binders is not ovcrly cumbersome for the Court to utilize on the
bench.
The parties shall coordinatc with each other to dcliver to the Court onc set of
deposition designations in the form of highlighted transcripts placed tn threcring binders. The front ofeach bindcr is to be labeled with thc style ofcasc,
casc numbcr, namc of thc filing party, and volume numbcr, and the spinc of
cach binder should be labcled wrth the depositions contained therein,
Deposition designations to which neither side objccts shall be highlightcd in
green. The plaintiffshall use yellow highlighting for his designations to
which the defendants object, and thc delendants shall use blue highlighting
for thcir designations to which the pla intiff objects. So that the copies are not
overly cumbcrsomc, the parties shall use condensed transcripts and shall print
on both sidcs of the page. Elcctronic copics ofthe highlighted transcripts in
.pdf form shall bc c-mailcd to Chambcrs.
d. Jury Charge: Thc parties shall file a joint proposedjury chargc and vcrdict
form, agrced to by all parties to the maximum extent possible, no later than
May 22, 2025. The parties shall simultaneously email the agteed proposed
jury charge and verdict form in Word format to the Court at
Hendrix_Orders(a.-:txnd. uscourts.gov. Counsel for the plaintiff is responsible
for ryping, collating, and otherwise preparing, filing, and scrving the final
document, but, if no plaintiff is rcpresented by counsel, counscl for the
defcndants must assumc this rcsponsibility. All proposed jury instructions
and questions must bc accompanied by citation to statutory or case-law
authorify andlor pattern instructions, and the Court advises thc partics to
rely, wherever possiblc, on U.S. Supreme Court and/or Fifth Circuit
authority and pattern instructions or relevant statelaw authority and pattern
instructions.
The Court expects the parties to engage-in person, by telcphonc, or via
video teleconfere ncc-in meaningful discussions to reach agreemcnt on each
portion of the proposed jury charge and ve rdict form. Whcn a disagrecment
persists, thosc portions of the joint proposed jury chargc that arc proposed by
any plaintiff, but objected to by any dcfendant, must bc underlincd. Those
portions of the jury instructions or questions that are proposed by any
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defendant, but objccted to by any plaintiff, must be in boldface. Compcting
versions of instructions or qucstions on thc samc topic must appear
sequentially in thc joint proposcd jury charge and verdict form, with a
plaintiffs version listed first and a defendants'version listed second. To thc
extent that the joint proposed jury charge and verdict form includes any
disputed portions, cach party must also file a brief in support of its lcgal
positions regarding the disputed portions of the joint proposed jury charge
and verdict form.
If supplemental jury instructions or questions become necessary due to the
nature of the evidcnce presented at trial, any proposed supplemental
instructions or questions must bc filcd with the Clcrk of Court as soon as
reasonably possiblc and simultaneously emailed in Word format to thc Court
at Hendrix Orders(a,txnd.uscourts.gov.
c
Voir Dire: The parties must submit proposed voir dire questions, if any, by
May 22, 2025. The Court will conduct the principal voir dire, and, unless the
parties are otherwise notified, the Court will permit one attorney pcr side to
ask follow-up questions, usually subjcct to a 20-minute time limit. The Court
does not routinely usc jury qucstionnaires or survcys, but thc Court will
consider rcquests for thc issuance of a jury questionnairc if all parties agrcc on
the proposed questions for thc Court to include and thc proposed qucstions
are submitted to the Court no later than May 22,2025.
f. Motions in Limine: Motions in limine should not be filed as a mattcr of
course. If frled, counsel must file them with the Court and serve them on thc
opposing parfy by May 22,2025. Responses must be filed with the Court and
served on the opposing parry June 2,2025. Replies to rcsponses arc not
permitted cxcept by leave of court in extraordinary circumstances. Motions
in limine must bc limited to matters that meet the following requirements:
(l)the matter cannot adequatcly be raised by an objection at trial without
prejudicing the moving party, and (2) the prcjudicc of mcntioning thc mattcr
in the jury's prescnce cannot bc cured by an instruction from thc
Court. Motions in limine must include neither "standard" rcquests not
tailored to a case-spccific mattcr nor issucs prescnted in an effort to obtain
substantivc rulings that should have been requested in advance oftrial by
appropriate motion.
g. Proposed Findings ofFact and Conclusions of Law: The parties shall filc
joint proposed findings offact and conclusions of law, agreed to by all partics
to the maximum cxtent possiblc, no later than May 23,2025. Thc partics
shall simultaneously email thc agreed proposed findings of fact and
conclusions of law in Word format to the Court at
Hendrix_Orders(r. txnd. uscourts. gov. Counsel for plaintiff is responsible for
typing, collating, and otherwise preparing, filing, and scrving thc Frnal
document. All proposed findings offact and conclusions of law must be
accompanied by citation to statutory or case-law authority andlor pattern
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instructions, and thc Court advises thc partics to rcly, whcrever possiblc, on
U,S. Supremc Court andlor Fifth Circuit authority and pattcrn instructions or
relevant statc-law authority and pattern instructions.
Thc Court expects the parties to engagc-in person, by telephone, or via
video teleconfercnce-in meaningful discussions to reach agreement on each
portion of the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. When a
disagreement persists, those portions of the joint f,rndings of fact and
conclusions of law that are proposed by any plaintiff, but objected to by any
defcndant, must be underlined. Those portions of the joint hndings offact
and conclusions of law that arc proposed by any defendant, but objectcd to by
any plaintiff, must be in boldface. Competing versions of findings of fact or
conclusions oflaw on the same topic must appear sequentially in the joint
proposcd findings offact and conclusions of law, with a plaintiffs version
listed Frrst and a dcfendants'vcrsion listed sccond. To the cxtent that the joint
findings offact and conclusions oflaw include any disputed portions, cach
party must also file a bricf in support of its lcgal positions regarding thc
disputed portions ofthe joint proposed findings of fact and conclusions of
law.
lf supplemcntal findings of fact and conclusions of law bccome necessary due
to the nature ofthe evidence presentcd at trial, any proposcd supplcmcntal
findings of fact and conclusions of law must be filcd with the Cle rk of Court
as soon as reasonably possible and simultaneously cmailed in Word format to
the Court at Hendrix_Ordersf.r,txnd.uscourts.gov.
h. Motions to Exclude Evidence or Witnesses: Motions to exclude evidcnce or
witnesses should not be filed as a matter ofcourse. Iffiled, counsel must filc
them with the Court and serve them on thc opposing party by May 23,2025.
Responses must bc filed with the Court and served on the opposing party by
June 2,2025. Replies to rcsponses arc not permittcd exccpt by lcave of court
in extraordinary circumstanccs. Motions to cxcludc evidcnce or witncsscs
must include neithcr "standard" requests not tailored to a case-specific mattcr
nor issues prcsented in an effort to obtain substantivc rulings that should havc
been requested in advance of trial by appropriate motion. Motions to exclude
evidence or witnesses are without prejudice to objcctions at trial to particular
testimony or particular uscs ofa piece ofevidcnce.
Trial Briefs: If trial is to the Court (in wholc or in part), cach party must, no
later than May 23,2025, fl,l.e and servc a trial briel not to exceed 30 pagcs
(excluding any tablc ofcontcnts and table ofauthorities), describing thc legal
and factual bases for any claim, defense, or issue on which the party has the
burden ofpersuasion, No later than lune 2,2025, any opposing parry must
file and serve a trial briel not to excecd 30 pages (cxcluding any table of
contents and table ofauthorities), responding to the trial briefs filcd by its
opposing parties on any claim, defensc, or issue on which the burden of
persuasion lies with any of its opposing parties. Each trial bricfshould rcly on
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U.S. Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit authority or rclevant statelaw
authority. Each trial briefshall be accompanied by that party's proposed
findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Court also welcomes short trial
briefs filed by the parties during trial to address any unanticipated issues that
arisc.
10. Mediation: Thc Court leaves to the parties whcther to engage in mediation.
Any mediation must, however, be completed by April 9, 2025.
11. Pretrial Conference: A pretrial conference will be held if the Court
determines such a conference is necessary, If the Court anticipates imposing time limits on
the presentation ofevidence that significantly reduces the parties' estimated trial length, the
Court will schedule a pretrial conference and advise the parties ofsuch deadlines. Lead
counsel for each party must attend. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(cX1), (e). Lead counsel must have
the authority to enter into stipulations and admissions that would facilitate the admission of
evidence and reduce the time and expcnse of ftial. Id. All pretrial motions not previously
decided will be resolved at that time, and procedures for trial will be discussed, At the
pretrial conference, it should be possible to assign a specific date for trial during the threcweek docket. Telephone calls about the probable trial date prior to the final pretrial
conference will not likely be beneficial to counsel or Court staff.
12. Modification of Scheduling Order: This Order shall control the disposition
of this case unless it is modified by the Court upon a showing ofgood cause and by leave of
court. Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(bX4). Conclusory statements will not suffice to show good cause,
even if the motion is agreed or unopposed.
13. Trial Procedures: Unless leave of court is obtained, the Court will limit the
examination of each wimess to direct examination, cross-examination, one redirect
examination, and one recross-examination. The redirect and recross must be limited to the
subject of the immediately preceding examination. The Court adheres to the scope of cross-
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examination as outlined in Federal Rule of Evidence 611(b). Local Civil Rule 83.4 govems
the conduct of counsel at trial.
Each party is responsible f,or keeping track of which exhibits are admitted during
trial, to confer with opposing counsel on a consolidated list, and to submit it as a table of
contents to accompany the exhibits and to file ofrecord in the case. lfthe parties have
electronic evidence they intend to admit as exhibits, the parties must bring the necessary
equipment for the Court to view it.
14. Hearings: The Court is aware that few cases go to trial and that there are
generally fewer speaking opportunities in court, particularly forjunior lawyers (i.e., lawyers
practicing for less than seven years). The Court encourages litigants to be mindful of
opporrunities forjunior lawyers to conduct hearings before the Court, particularly for
motions where the junior lawyer drafted or contributed significantly to the underlying
motion or response. In those instances where the Court is inclined to rule on the papers, a
representation that the argument would be handled by a junior lawyer will weigh in favor of
holding a hearing. The Court understands that there may be circumstanccs where having a
junior lawyer handle a hearing might not be appropriate. Even so, the Court believes it is
crucial to provide substantive speaking opportunities to junior lawyers, and the benefits of
doing so will accrue to junior lawyers, to clients, and to the profession generally. Thus, the
Court encourages all lawyers practicing before it to keep this goal in mind.
15. Compliance with this Order: Counsel and the parties are expected to
comply fully with this Order. Failure to comply will cause the Court to consider the entire
range of sanctions available.
l3
Case 5:23-cv-00007-H
Document 63
So ordered on Septcmber
Filed 09/03/24
Page 14 of 14
PageID 565
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JAMES
UNIT
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Y IIENDI{IX
STATES DISTRICT JUDCE
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