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The preface to the local rules: the Orange County Bar Association adopted Civility Guidelines in 2016, and the court expects all attorneys who appear before it to abide by them. The guidelines the preface links follow (approved December 21, 2016): a preamble and three guidelines — civility to other counsel and self-represented litigants, civility during discovery, and civility to the courts.
California > Fourth Appellate District > Orange County > Superior Court of California, County of Orange
“The Orange County Bar Association adopted Civility Guidelines in 2016. They are set forth below. The Orange County Superior Court expects all attorneys who appear before it to abide by the guidelines.” Civility Guidelines [The preface's words “Civility Guidelines” link to https://www.occourts.org/directory/local-rules/2021/Civility_Guidelines.pdf, which the court serves as https://www.occourts.org/system/files?file=civility_guidelines.pdf; that file's text follows.] ORANGE COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION CIVILITY GUIDELINES PREAMBLE The practice of law is a noble, time-honored profession requiring and inspiring trust and confidence. Lawyers rightly take pride in seeking mutual cooperation and maintaining personal dignity. Lawyers practicing in Orange County share a commitment to civility and recognize their obligation to be professional with clients, other parties and counsel, the courts, and the public. Courts expect lawyers to show others respect. Lawyers are officers of the court. Each lawyer’s conduct should reflect well on the judicial system, the profession, and the fair administration of justice. Judicial resources are limited and wisely conserved when lawyers avoid frivolous disputes. Lawyers should inspire public regard for the profession and for the judicial system. Rudeness, distrust, or abusive tactics by lawyers do not reflect well on the legal profession or inspire the public’s confidence. Civility allows for zealous representation, reduces clients’ costs, better advances clients’ interests, reduces stress, increases professional satisfaction, and promotes effective conflict resolution. These guidelines foster the civility and professionalism that are hallmarks of the best traditions of the legal profession. All OCBA members are encouraged to adopt these guidelines as their personal standards. The guidelines exceed the Rules of Professional Conduct; do not replace any statute or rule; and are not intended as an independent basis for sanctions, discipline, or more litigation. Rather, the guidelines remind us that law is best practiced with civility and that clients, courts, the public, and the fair administration of justice are best served thereby. GUIDELINES 1. Counsel shall show civility to other counsel and self-represented litigants. a. Communicate in a professional, businesslike manner. Respond to communications within a reasonable time, using reasonable means. Provide accurate redlines and note significant changes when exchanging drafts. Avoid personal attacks, demeaning comments, and misleading characterizations of the other side’s positions, both in private communications and in court. Act civilly toward opposing counsel’s staff members. b. Extend professional courtesies. Agree to reasonable requests, including those regarding service of papers or extensions of time, whenever possible without prejudicing the client’s interests or violating a court’s scheduling order. Honor commitments. c. Advise clients about the need for civility. Assure clients you will zealously represent them while still treating others with civility. Resist client requests to engage in abusive or disrespectful behavior. 2. Counsel shall show civility during discovery. a. Work together to make discovery self-executing. Meet and confer in good faith to try to limit and expedite discovery – and to resolve disputes without motions. Cooperate to make discovery reasonably convenient: e.g., provide written discovery requests in electronic format, discuss search terms for electronic discovery in advance, produce written responses and responsive documents in a user-friendly manner. Avoid pursuing discovery only to harass adversaries or increase litigation costs. Respond forthrightly and timely to non-objectionable requests. b. Schedule depositions reasonably. Respond to inquiries for dates within a reasonable time and on reasonable terms. Make good-faith efforts to accommodate the schedules of other parties, counsel, and witnesses. Delay or cancel depositions only with good cause and as much notice as practicable. c. Behave professionally at depositions. Avoid abusive or rude behavior, mischaracterizations of anyone’s conduct, baseless instructions not to answer, and questions asked only to embarrass the witness. Make reasonable use of the allotted time, without needlessly running out the clock or requiring an additional day. 3. Counsel shall show civility to the courts. a. Respect the court’s time. Make good-faith efforts to avoid or narrow issues before raising them with the court. Plan to make witnesses available while minimizing their wait time – consider on-call agreements. Notify the court as soon as possible if a matter resolves. b. Communicate respectfully with the court. Treat the court and its personnel with dignity. Avoid personal attacks, disrespectful familiarity, the appearance of impropriety, and improper ex parte communications. c. Conduct yourself professionally in court. Be punctual and prepared for every appearance. Wait for your matter respectfully. Let others speak, without interrupting. Accept responsibility for your handling of the case without blaming subordinates. d. Show this civility to all bench officers (judges, commissioners, temporary judges, referees), arbitrators, mediators, other dispute resolution providers, and their staffs. Approved December 21, 2016
“The Orange County Bar Association adopted Civility Guidelines in 2016. They are set forth below. The Orange County Superior Court expects all attorneys who appear before it to abide by the guidelines.” Civility Guidelines [The preface's words “Civility Guidelines” link to https://www.occourts.org/directory/local-rules/2021/Civility_Guidelines.pdf, which the court serves as https://www.occourts.or
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-29 (California T3 Orange build 2026-09-29) from two files in BenchPath custody: the court's preface (ca/t3/ca-orange/civility_guidelines_-_preface_to_local_rules.pdf, 38764 bytes, sha256 66e51a4797bea9e38baed7c80b6c870a738584837f4fa1a8700694863a7dcce0) and the Orange County Bar Association Civility Guidelines its words “Civility Guidelines” link to (served as https://www.occourts.org/system/files?file=civility_guidelines.pdf; ca/t3/ca-orange/civility-guidelines-linked.pdf, 76880 bytes, sha256 cb2f34466e0cfd237405f5748a9b297e3e99165472e0ae408d03b34a147cb4e8; its own receipt is recorded), with the shared verbatim composer; a bracketed note marks where the linked text begins; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layers minus chrome) both pass.
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.