Hon. Lorna G. Schofield — Individual Rules of Practice

SPECIAL RULES & PRACTICES IN CIVIL PRO SE CASES

THE HONORABLE LORNA SCHOFIELD, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Pro Se Intake Unit

United States District Court

Southern District of New York

500 Pearl Street, Room 200

New York, New York 10007

(212) 805-0175

1. Electronic Case Filing for Nonincarcerated Parties

A. ECF Filing by Pro Se Parties. Any nonincarcerated pro se party who wishes to

participate in electronic case filing (“ECF”) should complete a Motion for Permission for

Electronic Case Filing, available in the Pro Se Intake Unit or at

https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms. The form should be mailed to the Pro Se Intake Unit,

500 Pearl Street, Room 200, New York, NY, 10007.

B. Consent to Electronic Service by Pro Se Parties. Any nonincarcerated pro se party who

wishes to receive documents in their case electronically (by e-mail) instead of by regular

mail may consent to electronic service by filing a Pro Se (Nonprisoner) Consent &

Registration Form to Receive Documents Electronically, available in the Pro Se Intake

Unit or at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/forms.

2. Communications

A. By a Pro Se Party. All communications with the Court by a pro se party that are not filed on

ECF must be in writing and sent to the Pro Se Intake Unit at 500 Pearl Street, Room 200,

New York, NY, 10007 or through the drop box located in the lobby of the U.S.

Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY. Documents or Court filings should not be

sent directly to Chambers or Judge Schofield. No telephone calls will be accepted by

Chambers.

B. By Parties Represented by Counsel. Communications with the Court by a represented

party shall be governed by Judge Schofield’s Individual Rules and Practices in Civil Cases,

available at https://nysd.uscourts.gov/hon-lorna-g-schofield. Except for cases in which the

pro se party has received permission to participate in ECF, such communications must

include a separate proof of service indicating that the pro se party was served with a copy of

the communication.

C. Conferences and Proceedings. All routine conferences, proceedings and oral arguments

in civil cases may be held either in person at the address provided in the Court’s

scheduling order, or telephonically at the number provided in the Court’s scheduling

order.

D. Requests for Adjournments or Extensions of Time. All requests for adjournments or

extensions of time must be made in writing and must state: (1) the original date(s); (2) the

number of previous requests for adjournment or extension; (3) whether these previous

requests were granted or denied; and (4) whether the adversary consents and, if not, the

reasons given by the adversary for refusing to consent. Requests for extensions of deadlines

regarding a matter that has been referred to a Magistrate Judge shall be directed to that

assigned Magistrate Judge. Absent an emergency, any request for adjournment of a court

conference shall be made at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled appearance. Requests for

extensions ordinarily will be denied if made after the expiration of the original deadline.

3. Filing of Papers

A. By a Pro Se Party. If the pro se party is not participating in ECF, all papers to be filed with

the Court by a pro se party must be sent to the Pro Se Intake Unit, United States Courthouse,

500 Pearl Street, Room 200, New York, New York 10007. The Court will accept filings via

email from pro se parties without ECF privileges. Filings submitted by email must be sent to

Pro_Se_Filing@nysd.uscourts.gov, and done so in accordance with the procedures found in

Section 1.1 of the ECF Rules and Instructions located at

https://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/rules/ecf-related-instructions.

B. By Parties Represented by Counsel. Except for cases in which the pro se party has

received permission to participate in ECF or has consented to electronic service, counsel in

pro se cases must serve a pro se party with a paper copy of any document that is filed

electronically and include a proof of service indicating that the pro se party was served with a

copy of the filed document. Submissions filed without proof that the pro se party was served

will not be considered.

4. Discovery

A. Discovery Requests. All requests for discovery must be sent to counsel for the opposing

party. Discovery requests must not be sent to the Court.

B. Discovery Disputes. The parties shall confer amongst themselves with respect to

discovery demands prior to raising any issue with the Court. Parties should not contact

the Court regarding discovery disputes unless they have first attempted to resolve the

issue with the opposing party without the assistance of the Court.

5. Motions

A. Filing and Service. Before filing a motion to dismiss, a party must file a letter stating the

basis for the motion and a proposed briefing schedule. The letter shall be no longer than 750

words, single-spaced. No response is required. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court,

papers filed in opposition to a motion must be served and filed within four weeks of service

of the motion papers, and reply papers, if any, must be served and filed within two weeks of

receipt of opposition papers.

B. Pro Se Notices. Parties who file a motion to dismiss, a motion for judgment on the pleadings

or a motion for summary judgment must provide the pro se party with a copy of the notices

required under Local Civil Rules 12.1 or 56.2.

2

C. Memoranda of Law. All written motions shall be accompanied by a memorandum of law.

Unless prior permission has been granted, memoranda of law in support of and in opposition

to motions are limited to 8,750 words, and reply memoranda are limited to 3,500 words. If

handwritten or prepared with a typewriter, memoranda in support of or in opposition to

motions may not exceed 25 pages, and reply memoranda may not exceed 10 pages. These

limits do not apply to memoranda in support of or in opposition to a motion for

reargument or reconsideration, which are limited to 3,500 words, and reply memoranda

are limited to 1,750 words. If a memorandum is handwritten or prepared with a

typewriter, it may not exceed 10 pages for memoranda in support of or opposition to

reconsideration or reargument, and 5 pages for reply memoranda. Those limits also do

not apply to memoranda in support of or opposition to in limine motions, which shall not

exceed 2,500 words if prepared on a computer, or five pages if prepared with a typewriter or

handwritten. Any words or pages in excess of the applicable limit will be disregarded.

Those limits do not include the caption, any index, table of contents, table of authorities,

signature blocks, or any required certifications, but do include material contained in

footnotes or endnotes. If any memorandum of law is filed with a computer, the party

shall also file a certificate of compliance as required by Local Civil Rule 7.1(c).

6. Initial Case Management Conference. The Court will generally schedule an initial case

management conference within three months of the filing of the Complaint. An incarcerated

party may not be able to attend this or other conferences, but may be able to participate by

telephone or video conference.

7. Trial Documents

A. Joint Pretrial Statement. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, within 30 days of the

completion of discovery, the parties shall file a concise, written Joint Pretrial Statement. This

Statement need take no particular form, but it must contain the following: (1) a statement of

the facts that each party hopes to prove at trial; (2) a list of all documents or other physical

objects that each party plans to put into evidence at trial; and (3) a list of the names and

addresses of all witnesses that each party intends to have testify at trial. The Statement must

be sworn by the parties to be true and accurate based on the facts known by the parties. If

any party is represented, that party shall file the Joint Pretrial Statement. If no party is

represented, the parties shall jointly file an original of this Statement with the Pro Se Intake

Unit.

B. Other Pretrial Filings. At the time of filing the Pretrial Statement, any parties represented

by counsel must also submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, if the case is to

be tried before only a judge without a jury, or a proposed jury charge, if it will be tried before

a jury. The pro se party may also file either proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law

or a proposed jury charge, but is not required to do so. In all jury cases, the parties also shall

file joint proposed case specific voir dire (i.e., jury selection) questions and a one or two

paragraph statement describing the case that will be read to the prospective jurors and the

beginning of voir dire. The parties need not file generalized jury instructions or voir dire

instructions.

3

8. Pro Se Legal Assistance Clinic

The City Bar Justice Center provides limited-scope legal assistance through the Southern District

of New York’s Pro Se Legal Assistance Clinic. Assistance can be requested through the

Center’s online application located at https://www.citybarjusticecenter.org/projects/federal-pro-

se-legal-assistance-project/. If you are not able to complete the form or have questions regarding

the form, please contact the Clinic at (212) 382-4794.

If you have any questions about these rules and practices, please contact the Pro Se Intake Unit at

(212) 805-0175.

Revised 1/22/2025.

4