Seventh Circuit Rule Change Now Requires All Documents to Be Electronically Filed and Service

Chicago, Ill. – The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has instituted a circuit rule change that now requires all documents to be filed and served electronically. The rule does not apply to unrepresented parties, unless the party is an attorney representing herself. It also allows a party to request an exception from this requirement.

The court also added Rule 27, which provides procedures to be used for emergency filings outside of normal business hours. The rule notes “Counsel should not expect that electronic filings will be read and acted on outside business hours, unless arrangements for the emergency filing have been made in advance.”

The changes went into effect on May 1, 2011 and are available here.

Practice Tip: Since a great majority of intellectual property lawyers are already utilizing electronic filing, this rule change likely won’t have much impact. Intellectual property attorneys in the Seventh Circuit are already utilizing electronic service as well.