Local Rule General L. R. 5: Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers

General L. R. 5. Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers.

(a) General Format of Papers Presented for Filing.

(1) All pleadings and other papers must be filed by electronic means unless exempted or otherwise ordered by the Court, which may make reasonable exemptions from the electronic filing requirement.

(2) Pro se litigants are exempted from the electronic filing requirements set forth in (1) above and are permitted to file original paper.

(3) The original and a copy of all papers must be filed, unless the paper is filed electronically. In the following matters only the original paper need be filed: pro se litigation, habeas corpus proceedings, bankruptcy appeals, social security reviews, and United States collection cases.

(4) A pro se party must include an address and telephone number at which the Court can contact the party.

(5) Pleadings and other papers must be formatted for reproduction on 8 ½ by 11 inch paper. The text must be double-spaced, but quotations more than two lines long may be indented and single-spaced. Headings and footnotes may be single-spaced. Margins must be at least one inch on all four sides. Page numbers may be placed in the margins, but no text may appear there.

(6) Either a proportionally spaced or a monospaced face may be used.

(A) A proportionally spaced face must include serifs, but sans-serif type may be used in headings and captions. A proportionally spaced face must be 12-point or larger.

(B) A monospaced face may not contain more than 10½ characters per inch.

(7) All pleadings and other papers must use a plain, roman style font, although italics or boldface may be used for emphasis. Case names must be italicized or underlined.

(b) Place of Filing. All papers filed by non-electronic means must be filed with the Clerk of Court and not in the judge's chambers. The Clerk of Court must retain the original of the paper filed, except the original of an order submitted for signature, and must transmit the copy to the judge.

(c) Filing Attorney Signature Block Requirements. The combination of the ECF User ID and Password constitutes proper authentication for the signature of the filing attorney for all electronic documents, as well as for the purposes of the federal rules, and any other purpose for which a signature is required in connection with proceedings before the Court. The proper format for entering an attorney's signature on a pleading or other document is:

s/ [type attorney name here] Attorney Name Attorney Bar Number: Attorney for (Plaintiff/Defendant) ABC Law Firm 123 South Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 Telephone: (414) 123-4567 E-mail: attorneyname@law.com

(d) Signature Methods for Electronic Documents. The following methods may be used to obtain the electronic signature of a person other than the filing attorney for purposes of a court filing:

(1) A scanned image of the originally signed document containing a wet ink signature, in which case the document should be text searchable;

(2) An image with a digital signature from a software program that creates a secure electronic signature that uniquely identifies the signer and ensures both the authenticity of the signature and that the signed document has not been altered or repudiated; or

(3) A document with an "s/", followed by the printed name of the signer when:

(A) The Filing User obtained the signer's signature by an authorized signature method provided in subsections (d)(1)-(2) of this rule; or

(B) The Filing User obtained the signer's written permission to use the signer's electronic signature. For purposes of this rule, written evidence of permission includes email correspondence.

(e) Retention Requirements for Electronic Signatures. A Filing User must retain the signed document or evidence of permission to use the electronic signature for at least one year after the case is closed and all appeals have been exhausted. On receipt of a request from the Court or party, the Filing User must provide the Court or other parties in the case a copy of the signed document or evidence of permission to use the electronic signature.

(f) Notary Signatures. If the original document requires notarization, the filing attorney must:

(1) Obtain the signature of a Notary Public on the original document; and

(2) Electronically file the document indicating the Notary Public's Certificate of Notarial Acts with their signature typed in the following format "s/Notary Name".

Committee Comment: This Rule supersedes the previous guidelines set forth in the Clerk's ECF Policies and Procedures, II., C., (E.D. Wis). Please refer to the current policies and procedures for additional filing information. Former subparagraph C.3 of the ECF Policies and Procedures relating to multiple signatures is eliminated as unnecessary as this Local Rule authorizes the same signing options for single or multiple signatures.