THE ROBING ROOM

I am a civil defense lawyer. Practicing before Judge Walter is a nightmare. As anyone who has had a case with him knows all too well, he is obsessive about compliance with the Local Rules and his Scheduling/Standing Orders. If you violate any LR or anything in his 30-page orders, your motion will get denied, he will threaten you with several thousands of dollars in sanctions (he never follows through with that though), and may even dismiss your case. He does not care how trivial or inconsequential the violation may be. I have heard of him denying with prejudice complicated, dispositive motions because a party did not submit courtesy copies as he wants them (i.e., with oversized hole punches). He is that strict about his rules. If you draw him, try to consent to the magistrate. Your life will be far less stressful and your case will get decided on its merits instead of on some meaningless procedural technicality. If you are stuck with him, read his Scheduling and Standing Orders over and over and over. Make sure you comply with everything in them. Some pointers: He will deny your motion if you do not strictly comply with LR 7-2, so make sure you timely meet and confer before any motion and submit the M&C statement he requires. He will deny your motion if you do not submit a proposed statement of decision two days after the reply is due. He will deny your motion if you do not send compliant courtesy copies. He will strike any pre-trial filing that is not 100% perfect and exactly as he requires. He will deny your motion if you do not LODGE (email Word copy to chambers) a proposed order/decision. Do not plan on him granting any extensions, continuances, or modifications to the scheduling order. He will not do it, even if it's by stipulation. If he ever holds a hearing (he rarely does on motions), he will almost certainly berate you and grill you. As unpleasant as he makes it, he is very thorough (for the most part) and, if you comply with all of his rules, he will issue a well-reasoned order. He does his homework, reviews everything, and is clearly a very sharp guy. His decisions are generally even-handed and considered.