2014 Top Ten Best Practices List

Transcription

1 2014 Top Ten Best Practices List Each year I try a different approach to presenting the Top 10 Best Practices Tips. This year I ll present it by category of which there are 8---with multiple sub-parts---in no particular order. I just keep the title the same because it s now a tradition. 1. For PVP s Please specific when making your recommendations in your reports. I know this is redundant because we talked about this at the PVP training in April. 2. Regarding ex parte applications Please provide an Order with blanks to fill in for: 1) Hearing date 2) Service date for Order and moving papers 3) Opposition and Reply dates 3. For TSC s Because we are now paperless AND the judge handling the TSC is not the same judge that has been shepherding you to the point of trial readiness, please lodge copies of the operative pleadings at least 2 days before the TSC date, or bring them to the TSC, along with your Probate Trial Setting/Status Worksheet. 1

2 4. Probate Attorney comments: a. A request for a continuance MUST be made PRIOR to 11 a.m. the day before the hearing. The calendar notes are finalized in the morning and no changes can be made to them after that, including continuances. b. Once a hearing date passes, the notes are no longer available online and will not be available until 2-8 days prior to your next hearing date. If you know your matter is being continued to clear notes, print them out so that you have them to reference. Alternatively, you can access the minute order from the earlier hearing date once it is scanned to see what notes remain to be cleared. c. Do NOT file shell Petitions for your accounts with the intention of filing a supplement with all the necessary information at a later time. When you do that it requires multiple supplements to be filed and is confusing at best. 1) Specifically, please don t request fees without submitting support for your request. Often fees are requested and in the Petition it says that they will be addressed in a later supplement. If someone tries to view the Petition online, they would not have the information they need to determine if they want or need to file Objections. 2) Your Petitions must include the legal authority on which you are bringing your requests. It is also necessary to comply with California Rules of Court and the Local Rules of Court. 3) Re: P.C. 1064(a)(2) explanations for unusual items appearing in the account: 2

3 a) If multiple disbursements to an individual are made, tell us who the person is and what service they provide. We shouldn t have to go back to prior accounts to try to figure it out. b) If there is a large withdrawal, that needs to be explained. c) If there is a prior Order approving certain investments, include that with the account. d) Sums paid for property that on its face is not included in a Conservatorship Estate, e.g. real property that might be held in a Trust or a vehicle when the Conservatee does not own one or it was not reported on an Inventory and Appraisal must be explained. e) The more thorough the information you provide assists us in a speedier review and will minimize YOUR time preparing supplements and/or having your matter continued. 5. Clerk requests: a. Provide your business card to the clerks, with the calendar number and which party you represent, before the Judge takes the bench. b. Repeat from the 2012 Top Ten list - Calls made in the morning to the courtroom, during calendar call, asking about matters that are not on calendar should not be made. Also, if you did not appear, but want to know what happened on a specific case Please call in the afternoon. There is too much going on for court staff to answer questions like that in the morning during calendar call. 3

4 c. Don t stand up or break into the calendar call to ask for your matter to be recalled or anything else for that matter. Talk to the court staff and they will tell you how best to take care of your issue. d. Please do not talk to opposing counsel or your client in the courtroom while court is in session. If you need to talk, please go outside of the courtroom. 6. For Law Clerk, aka Research Attorney: a. Repeat from 2012 Top Ten List - Do NOT combine motions in one pleading. 1) Discovery motions seeking relief relating to issues re: Special Interrogatories, Requests for Production, Requests for Admissions, and Form Interrogatories are separate motions. 2) A Motion to Quash and a Motion for a Protective Order are also separate motions. b. File Requests for Judicial Notice as a separate document per CRC (1) and CRC You should not be requesting the Court to take judicial notice of documents in the body of your moving papers. c. Late filed pleadings are a problem. While we TRY to accommodate them, CCP 1005 sets forth the time requirements for filing pleadings. d. An ex parte Motion should only be filed when there is a true urgency. CRC et. seq. Not liking the date you got at the filing window does NOT qualify as urgency. If you bring an ex parte regarding the filing of a Motion for which there is no urgency, it will be denied. e. If you file multiple motions and they are set on various dates that is because the court has specified a limit on certain matters to be heard 4

5 on any given day. We are unable to accommodate requests to reschedule them all to be heard on one date. f. SUPER IMPORTANT!!! We have 4 courts, lots of very complex, interesting and highly contested cases. Sadly, We ONLY have ONE Research Attorney. Since we recently lost our experienced research attorney---please do not ask our new research attorney to work up motions that are not going forward, ESPECIALLY discovery motions that are EXTREMELY time consuming, or to work up a motion Just in case! If our research attorney is working up those matters, they will be unable to work up your MSJ s, MSA s, Anti-SLAPP Motions, and other important motions. NONE of us want that. Please let him or her know if any motion that you ve filed is going off calendar as soon as you know and not less than one week ahead of your hearing date. 7. Judges requests: a. Don t ask for priority if your opposing counsel is not present. b. If you know someone who should be present isn t, don t start arguing your position unless you advise the court of their absence. c. If you have reached a settlement and would like to use it to dispose of the pending petitions, be prepared to address each JTD so that we can address all matters needing to be addressed. d. Be sure to bring any recently filed supplements to court with you. They may not have been reviewed and/or are not imaged which means that we may not be able to access it on the computer. If you didn t bring a copy for us to look at, we can t help you or discuss the supplement further and the matter will have to be continued. 5

6 e. Don t assume the court will continue your matters without explaining why you need a continuance. f. When approaching counsel table and stating your appearance with your client, please tell us how your client is related to the case, e.g. Petitioner and beneficiary, or Objector and Mother, etc. 8. Courtroom management: If a proposed conservatee or minor is present for a hearing and is unable, due to their age or physical limitations, to wait or come back at 1:30, please let the staff know so that we can give them a priority. Last, I again want to thank you on behalf of all of us attending for your hospitality. 6