Judge Albright hearing procedures during WFH
Judge Albright has issued procedures for how he’s conducting hearings (including Markman hearings) during the current environment.
All hearings on the Waco docket will continue as scheduled, but will occur telephonically. The Court will provide a call-in number, but the parties need to have a backup number just in case. Because in some cases several cases are set, you should dial in ten minutes before your hearing, but since multiple cases may be set, wait till your case is called to announce. (Be sure to put your phone on mute, and enjoy the show. Popcorn optional, but recommended).
PowerPoint slides. Your PowerPoint slides can WFH as well. If you want to use slides, email them to the Court 24 hours before the hearing. If both sides want to use slides, work out a time and email them at the agreed time at least that far out. If you don’t email slides at least 24 hours, the Court assumes you don’t want to use them.
Markman hearings. There is an exception to the 24 hour rule. You’ll get preliminary constructions from the Court before the hearing. Your slides are due within 6 hours of receiving those preliminary constructions. So you might want to make sure everyone on the Markman team is available the evening before the hearing to refine the slide deck based on the constructions, just in case.
Ed. note: I’d be sure to number your slides so you can direct the Court to the one you’re using. A surprising number of people don’t put numbers on their slide decks, which isn’t fatal at live hearings, but will be on a telephonic one.
Everyone stay safe out there.
