Law Commons^™

Ever since the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1938, federal courts have had the power to create their own local rules to “promot[e] uniform practice within a district.” Although some debate whether these rules actually further “the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding,” local rules are here to stay and we owe it to our students to give attention to these rules in the legal writing classroom. As a practical matter, students would benefit from early exposure to the local rules, which continue to proliferate, dictating the minutia of litigation generally, and …