This Legal Update reports on changes to the local rules and Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) rules for all US federal district and appellate courts during the week of November 19, 2012. It also reports on changes to the individual practice rules for judges in certain district courts during this time period. For links to all federal court local and CM/ECF rules, as well as the individual practice rules for federal judges, see PLC Litigation, Court Rules.

The District of Delaware previously announced that effective January 1, 2013, all documents filed via the CM/ECF system must be in PDF-A format. However, on November 28, 2012, the District of Delaware announced that until further notice, documents filed via CM/ECF in PDF standard format will be accepted. The requirement for filing CM/ECF documents in PDF-A format is postponed indefinitely. This policy is reflected in the court's CM/ECF Version 5.0.3 New Features and Functions and Electronic Filing Tips for Attorneys.

The Western Division at Dayton revised its Day 12-01 General Order to reflect that under the form Preliminary Pretrial Order, parties must now exchange witness lists rather than file them, in accordance with the body of the Order.