Whether you are a new attorney or an experienced one, filings are stressful. A  lot of rules apply, technology fails and there can be many moving pieces. Not following the applicable rules and filing documents incorrectly can have consequences ranging from losing credibility with your judge to blowing your deadline to file a dispositive motion because your motion was stricken or denied. Filing errors may also result in a filing deficiency notice posted by the court on the CM/ECF docket for all to see, which highlights the mistake via email to everyone involved in the case and registered for CM/ECF notifications.

If you are a young attorney, you probably did not learn about filings in law school. And, as former federal clerks, we also know that attorneys who have been practicing for a long time can still miss filing pitfalls. That is why we taught a short-session class on California federal court filings at the University of California, Irvine School of Law this past January to teach students the basics of pretrial filings and to better prepare them for practice. From the class, we developed the following list of seven key takeaways applicable to all federal filings that will help lessen the unpredictability and stress of filing days:

  • Review the local rules, general orders, and any orders by the assigned judge(s).