Form of Pleading

(a) All documents filed in paper format shall be typed or printed on size 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, shall have no back or cover sheet, and shall include a page number on each page other than the first page. Those subsequent to the complaint shall be headed with the title and number of the case, the name of the court, and the date and designation of the particular pleading, in confor- mity with the applicable form in the rules of prac- tice which is set forth in the Appendix of Forms in this volume. (b) At the bottom of the first page of each paper, a blank space of approximately two inches shall be reserved for notations of receipt or time of filing by the clerk and for statements by counsel pursuant to Section 11-18 (a) (2). Papers shall be punched with two holes, two and twelve-six- teenths inches apart, each centered seven-six- teenths of an inch from the upper edge, one being two and fourteen-sixteenths inches from the left- hand edge and the other being the same distance from the right-hand edge, and each four-six- teenths of an inch in diameter. (c) All documents filed electronically shall be in substantially the same format as required by subsection (a) of this section. (d) The clerk may require a party to correct any filed paper which is not in compliance with this section by substituting a paper in proper form. (e) This section shall not apply to forms supplied by the Judicial Branch or generated by the elec- tronic filing system. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 118.) (Amended Aug. 24, 2001, to take effect Jan. 1, 2002; amended June 20, 2011, to take effect Jan. 1, 2012; amended June 13, 2014, to take effect Jan. 1, 2015.) by an attorney shall sign his or her pleadings and other papers. The name of the attorney or party who signs such document shall be legibly typed or printed beneath the signature. (b) The signing of any pleading, motion, objec- tion or request shall constitute a certificate that the signer has read such document, that to the best of the signer’s knowledge, information and belief there is good ground to support it, that it is not interposed for delay, and that the signer has complied with the requirements of Section 4-7 regarding personal identifying information. Each pleading and every other court-filed document signed by an attorney or party shall set forth the signer’s telephone number and mailing address. (c) An attorney may assist a client in prepar- ing a pleading, motion or other document to be signed and filed in court by the client. In such cases, the attorney shall insert the notation ‘‘pre- pared with assistance of counsel’’ on any plead- ing, motion or document prepared by the attorney. The attorney is not required to sign the pleading, motion or document and the filing of such a plead- ing, motion or document shall not constitute an appearance by the attorney. (P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 119.) (Amended June 22, 2009, to take effect Jan. 1, 2010; amended June 14, 2013, to take effect Oct. 1, 2013.)