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Thursday, 09 October 2008 14:50
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Page 5 of 15
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B. SCHEDULING, CONTINUANCES, AND EXTENSIONS OF TIME
- Attorneys must, except in extraordinary circumstances, communicate with opposing counsel before scheduling depositions, hearings, and other proceedings -- to schedule them at times that are mutually convenient for all interested persons.
- On receipt of an inquiry concerning a proposed time for a hearing, deposition, meeting, or other proceeding, a lawyer promptly should agree to the proposal or offer a counter suggestion that is as close in time as is reasonably possible.
- As soon as they become apparent, a lawyer should call to the attention of those affected, including the court or tribunal, potential scheduling conflicts or problems.
- Attorneys should cooperate with each other when conflicts and calendar changes are necessary and requested.
- Counsel never should request a calendar change or misrepresent a conflict to obtain an advantage or delay. However, in the practice of law, emergencies will arise that affect our families or our professional commitments and create conflicts that make requests inevitable. We should be cooperative with each other whenever possible in agreeing to calendar changes, and should make requests of other counsel only when absolutely necessary.
- Attorneys must, except in extraordinary circumstances, provide opposing counsel, parties, witnesses, and other affected persons sufficient notice of depositions, hearings, and other proceedings.
- When scheduling hearings and other adjudicative proceedings, a lawyer should request an amount of time that is calculated to permit full and fair presentation of the matter to be adjudicated and to permit equal response by the lawyer's adversary.
- A lawyer should accede to all reasonable requests for scheduling, rescheduling, cancellations, extensions, and postponements that do not prejudice the client's opportunity for full, fair, and prompt consideration and adjudication of the client's claim or defense.
- First requests for reasonable extensions of time to respond to litigation deadlines, whether relating to pleadings, discovery, or motions, ordinarily should be granted between counsel as a matter of courtesy unless time is of the essence.
- After a first extension, any additional requests for time should be addressed by balancing the need for expedition against the deference one ordinarily should give to an opponent's schedule of professional and personal engagements, the reasonableness of the length of extension requested, the opponent's willingness to grant reciprocal extensions, the time actually needed for the task, and whether it is likely that a court would grant the extension if asked to do so.
- A lawyer should advise clients against the strategy of granting no time extensions for the sake of appearing "tough."
- A lawyer should not seek extensions or continuances or refuse to grant them for the purpose of harassment or prolonging litigation.
- A lawyer should not attach to extensions unfair and extraneous conditions. A lawyer is entitled to impose conditions, such as preserving the right to seek reciprocal scheduling concessions. However, when granting extensions, a lawyer should not seek to preclude an opponent's substantive rights, such as the right to move against a complaint.
- A lawyer should not request rescheduling, cancellations, extensions, or postponements without legitimate reasons and never solely for the purpose of delay or obtaining unfair advantage.
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Last Updated on Thursday, 09 October 2008 15:01
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Conduct Guidelines
