Points and Authorities - Trial Briefs - Length

Except as otherwise provided in this rule or ordered by a judge, no memorandum of points and authorities, pretrial brief, trial brief, or posttrial brief may exceed 7,000 words, including headings, footnotes, and quotations but excluding the caption, the table of contents, the table of authorities, the signature block, the certification required by L.R. 11-6.2, and any indices and exhibits. A handwritten brief or a brief prepared using a typewriter may not exceed 25 pages, excluding the caption (if on a separate cover page), the table of contents, the table of authorities, the signature block, and any indices and exhibits. L.R. 11-6.2. Certificate of Compliance.

Any memorandum of points and authorities, pretrial brief, trial brief, or posttrial brief, except those that are handwritten or prepared using a typewriter, must include on the last page of the document a certificate by the attorney or the unrepresented party filing the document that the document complies with the type-volume limitation of L.R. 11-6.1. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the document. The certificate must be in substantially the following form: “The undersigned, counsel of record for ____________[or role of party, if unrepresented], certifies that this brief contains [state the number of] words, which [choose one]: __ complies with the word limit of L.R. 11-6.1. __ complies with the word limit set by court order dated [date].” [date, name, and signature]