In electronic file cases, most Supreme Court justices require a hard copy of the motion papers. The hard copy is referred to as a “Working Copy,” and should be marked as such. I find that, no matter the court, the papers in the Working Copy should be arranged as follows:
- Notice of Motion (unless you are filing opposition papers or a reply, in which case, the following goes on top):
- Attorney affirmation or affirmations;
- Affidavits, if any;
- Exhibits, if any;
- Copies of authority (statutes, regulations, caselaw, etc.), if any;
- Affirmation or affidavit of service (pretty much required);
- Back (really optional);
- Confirmation notice (required and facing out like a back).
Courts don’t seem to have a problem if some or all of the affirmations or affidavits are made exhibits, provided that they are right behind the Notice of Motion or up front. Of course, if a file is being handled pro se, an affidavit can be the first paper in a motion package.
If you want to include a proposed order, place it after the affirmations and affidavits, or make it an exhibit. Do not affix a proposed order to the top of your papers, ahead of the Notice of Motion — court staff really dislikes that. You can include a loose copy of the proposed order, and just stick it between the other pages of the motion package.
Again, in an electronic file case, a court will refuse to accept a set of motion papers if it fails to include a copy of the Confirmation Notice. When you file papers electronically, at the end of the process, you are given the option of downloading a confirmation notice, and I think, no matter the document, you should always obtain a confirmation on filing. If you fail to get it then, there is currently no way for you to go back to get a confirmation notice. The only way to get a copy of the confirmation notice subsequent to filing is to go to the Clerk’s office. So, unless you want to pay extra for the per diem or appearance attorney to get a copy from the clerk’s office, in preparing the per diem or appearance attorney, you should include a copy of the confirmation notice for the moving papers, oppositioin or reply.