The Court will set cases for status within 60 days of the filing of the complaint. At the initial status conference the parties are to report on the following: 1. The possibility of settlement in the case.  2.  If no possibility of settlement exists, the nature and length of discovery necessary to prepare the case for trial.

To maximize the effectiveness of the scheduled status conference, the Court asks plaintiff’s counsel to schedule a preliminary meeting with opposing counsel to fully explore early settlement opportunities and identify areas of agreement.

The Court recognizes that in some cases the scheduled status conference will take place before defendants have filed a responsive pleading to the complaint. However, the Court expects all defendants who have been served to participate in this process regardless of whether they have filed a responsive pleading.

The Court will set cases for status within 60 days of the filing of the complaint. At the initial status conference the parties are to report on the following: 1. The possibility of settlement in the case.  2.  If no possibility of settlement exists, the nature and length of discovery necessary to prepare the case for trial.

To maximize the effectiveness of the scheduled status conference, the Court asks plaintiff’s counsel to schedule a preliminary meeting with opposing counsel to fully explore early settlement opportunities and identify areas of agreement.

The Court recognizes that in some cases the scheduled status conference will take place before defendants have filed a responsive pleading to the complaint. However, the Court expects all defendants who have been served to participate in this process regardless of whether they have filed a responsive pleading.

Scheduling Motions
The Court hears motions Tuesday and Thursday at 9:50 a.m.

All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed  at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1 .  

Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court.

Agreed Motions
If a motion is joint, uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the motion.

Extensions of Time
A party seeking an extension of time must contact all other parties to determine if the motion is opposed.  The party seeking the extension should indicate in the motion (1) the reason for the request; (2) the number of previous extensions; and (3) whether the motion is opposed, and if so, on what grounds.  Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline.

Searchable Text
To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF.  The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf.  The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not.

Scheduling Motions
The Court hears motions Tuesday and Thursday at 9:50 a.m.

All motions, stipulated or not, must be noticed for hearing. All motions must be filed  at least three working days prior to the date of the hearing of the motion pursuant to Local Rule 78.1 .  

Courtesy copies are not required unless specifically requested by the Court.

Agreed Motions
If a motion is joint, uncontested, or agreed, please so indicate in the title and body of the motion.

Extensions of Time
A party seeking an extension of time must contact all other parties to determine if the motion is opposed.  The party seeking the extension should indicate in the motion (1) the reason for the request; (2) the number of previous extensions; and (3) whether the motion is opposed, and if so, on what grounds.  Motion for extensions of time must be filed before the deadline.

Searchable Text
To the extent possible, all electronically-filed documents should be made word-searchable before being filed on ECF.  The Court strongly encourages counsel to convert any word-processed document into a .pdf document by printing or publishing to .pdf, rather than manually scanning a paper copy into .pdf.  The former method of conversion generates searchable optical character recognition (OCR) text; the latter does not.

Meeting Requirement

The Court encourages the parties to work out discovery disputes and discourages the filing of discovery motions. With regard to the filing of motions for discovery and production of documents under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26-37, the Court will not hear or consider any discovery motions unless the parties have complied with Local Rule 37.2

In any motion for discovery or production of documents, the movant shall state when and how the movant complied with Local Rule 37.2.

Meeting Requirement

The Court encourages the parties to work out discovery disputes and discourages the filing of discovery motions. With regard to the filing of motions for discovery and production of documents under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26-37, the Court will not hear or consider any discovery motions unless the parties have complied with Local Rule 37.2

In any motion for discovery or production of documents, the movant shall state when and how the movant complied with Local Rule 37.2.

Trial dates are firm. Any motion to reset a trial date shall be made at the earliest possible time.

All exhibits are to be marked and numbered before trial and copies are to be furnished to opposing counsel. Two (2) copies of exhibit lists and two (2) copies of witness lists shall be provided to the Court on the morning of the first day of trial.

Counsel are to meet before trial for the purpose of designated agreed jury instructions.

If a case has been settled, counsel are directed to immediately inform the Courtroom Deputy. Failure to inform the Courtroom Deputy of a settlement will result in the assessment of jury costs against all parties. ( Local Rule 54.2 )

BASIC JUROR BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONS
FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER
FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER - SHORT FORM 
PRETRIAL MEMORANDUM - PERSONAL INJURY
PRETRIAL MEMORANDUM - EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
COURT’S JURY INSTRUCTIONS
7th CIRCUIT PATTERN CIVIL JURY INSTRUCTIONS 

Trial dates are firm. Any motion to reset a trial date shall be made at the earliest possible time.

All exhibits are to be marked and numbered before trial and copies are to be furnished to opposing counsel. Two (2) copies of exhibit lists and two (2) copies of witness lists shall be provided to the Court on the morning of the first day of trial.

Counsel are to meet before trial for the purpose of designated agreed jury instructions.

If a case has been settled, counsel are directed to immediately inform the Courtroom Deputy. Failure to inform the Courtroom Deputy of a settlement will result in the assessment of jury costs against all parties. ( Local Rule 54.2 )

BASIC JUROR BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONS
FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER
FINAL PRETRIAL ORDER - SHORT FORM 
PRETRIAL MEMORANDUM - PERSONAL INJURY
PRETRIAL MEMORANDUM - EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
COURT’S JURY INSTRUCTIONS
7th CIRCUIT PATTERN CIVIL JURY INSTRUCTIONS 

Proposed Orders are technically not to be "filed." Rather, they are to be "submitted" to the judge to consider, to modify, if appropriate, and to enter electronically. For example, proposed orders such as stipulated protective orders require court approval before actually being given full effect. To prevent confusion, such proposed orders must be attached to an e-mail sent to the e-mail address of the assigned judge, Proposed_Order_Kocoras@ilnd.uscourts.gov The subject line of the e-mail must include the case number and name, the docket number of the corresponding motion, if any, and the title of the order that is proposed. All such documents must be submitted to the court in a format compatible with Microsoft Word. Such proposed orders should also be served on all parties.

Submitting a proposed order electronically is not a substitute for filing a motion, even if the order is agreed.  A proposed order may only be submitted after the corresponding motion has been filed, unless the Court has already given leave to submit an order without a corresponding motion.

Proposed Orders are technically not to be "filed." Rather, they are to be "submitted" to the judge to consider, to modify, if appropriate, and to enter electronically. For example, proposed orders such as stipulated protective orders require court approval before actually being given full effect. To prevent confusion, such proposed orders must be attached to an e-mail sent to the e-mail address of the assigned judge, Proposed_Order_Kocoras@ilnd.uscourts.gov The subject line of the e-mail must include the case number and name, the docket number of the corresponding motion, if any, and the title of the order that is proposed. All such documents must be submitted to the court in a format compatible with Microsoft Word. Such proposed orders should also be served on all parties.

Submitting a proposed order electronically is not a substitute for filing a motion, even if the order is agreed.  A proposed order may only be submitted after the corresponding motion has been filed, unless the Court has already given leave to submit an order without a corresponding motion.

Motions for summary judgment and responses must comply with Local Rule 56.1, as well as the procedures outlined here. 

The statements of undisputed material facts and responses shall be filed separately from the memoranda of law and shall include the line, paragraph, or page number where the supporting material may be found in the record.  Parties must make the supporting evidence easy to find. 

A Local Rule 56.1 statement of facts is not a substitute for a statement of facts section contained in the supporting brief.  A supporting brief that merely incorporates the Local Rule 56.1 statement rather than setting forth a statement of facts section may be stricken. 

 The Local Rules are not mere technicalities.  The Court expects strict compliance with the Local Rules regarding summary judgment.  Failure to comply with the Local Rules may result in the Court striking briefs, disregarding statements of fact, deeming statements of fact admitted, and denying summary judgment.  See Modrowski v. Pigatto, 712 F.3d 1166, 1169 (7th Cir. 2013); Keeton v. Morningstar, Inc., 667 F.3d 877, 884 (7th Cir. 2012).

The movant shall not file more than 80 statements of undisputed material facts without prior leave of Court.  The respondent shall be limited to 40 statements of undisputed material facts absent prior leave of Court.  In complex cases, the Court may request that the parties submit a timeline of events in addition to statements of undisputed material facts.

Motions to strike are disfavored.  If a party contends that another party has included inadmissible evidence, improper argument, or other objectionable material in a Local Rule 56.1 submission, the party typically should raise its argument that the Court should not consider such material in the party’s response or reply brief – not in a separate motion to strike.

Parties must include a table of contents for any exhibits.

Motions for summary judgment and responses must comply with Local Rule 56.1, as well as the procedures outlined here. 

The statements of undisputed material facts and responses shall be filed separately from the memoranda of law and shall include the line, paragraph, or page number where the supporting material may be found in the record.  Parties must make the supporting evidence easy to find. 

A Local Rule 56.1 statement of facts is not a substitute for a statement of facts section contained in the supporting brief.  A supporting brief that merely incorporates the Local Rule 56.1 statement rather than setting forth a statement of facts section may be stricken. 

 The Local Rules are not mere technicalities.  The Court expects strict compliance with the Local Rules regarding summary judgment.  Failure to comply with the Local Rules may result in the Court striking briefs, disregarding statements of fact, deeming statements of fact admitted, and denying summary judgment.  See Modrowski v. Pigatto, 712 F.3d 1166, 1169 (7th Cir. 2013); Keeton v. Morningstar, Inc., 667 F.3d 877, 884 (7th Cir. 2012).

The movant shall not file more than 80 statements of undisputed material facts without prior leave of Court.  The respondent shall be limited to 40 statements of undisputed material facts absent prior leave of Court.  In complex cases, the Court may request that the parties submit a timeline of events in addition to statements of undisputed material facts.

Motions to strike are disfavored.  If a party contends that another party has included inadmissible evidence, improper argument, or other objectionable material in a Local Rule 56.1 submission, the party typically should raise its argument that the Court should not consider such material in the party’s response or reply brief – not in a separate motion to strike.

Parties must include a table of contents for any exhibits.