Oral arguments are presented to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) in support of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also advance the argument of each party in the legal dispute. Oral argument operates by each party in a case taking turns to speak directly to the judge or judges with an equal amount of time allotted to each. A party may often reserve part of their time to be used for rebuttal after their adversary has presented argument in the First…

Effective March 8, 2018, the Appellate Division, Second Department updated two provisions of its court rules, as described here. The changes impact procedures regarding (1) orders to show cause and (2) communications with the court regarding new authorities after the case has been calendared. The full version of the Second Departments' rules is available here. Orders to Show Cause and Applications Pursuant to CPLR 5704 It has long been the practice that reasonable notice (usually defined as at least 24 hours) must be given to all parties before an order to show cause is brought in the Second Department. Historically,…