Court Document Formatting

Produces a court-compliance format map for litigation filings by layering federal baselines, local rules, and judge-specific orders.

Quick Start

Gather before drafting:

Court: name, division, district/state, assigned judge, case number format.
Rules: FRCP or state counterpart + exact local rules version in effect.
Document class: pleading, motion, brief, reply, notice, or order response.
Filing channel: paper, CM/ECF, or vendor portal.
Ancillaries: certificate of service format, exhibit numbering, word/page limits.

Core Workflow

1. Build the Rules Stack

Apply layers in order; each overrides the one above:

| Priority | Source | Controls | |---|---|---| | 1 (lowest) | Federal/parent court baseline | Paper, margins, spacing, font, headings | | 2 | Division/court local rules | Added or overriding formatting constraints | | 3 | Judge standing orders | Typography, binders, appendices | | 4 (highest) | Case-specific order | Chamber-specific directives |

Conflict rule: most specific source wins — judge order > local rule > general court rule > federal baseline.

2. Apply Base Federal Defaults

| Element | Default | |---|---| | Paper | 8.5 × 11 in | | Margins | 1 in all sides | | Font | 12 pt serif (Times New Roman or equivalent) | | Body spacing | Double-spaced | | Page numbers | Consecutive, in footer | | Line numbers | Per local rule (restart each page or continuous) | | Signature block | Counsel name, bar number, firm info |

3. Set the Caption

[COURT NAME]
[DISTRICT/COUNTY IDENTIFIER]

[PLAINTIFF],
    Plaintiff,
v.
[DEFENDANT],
    Defendant.

Case No. [COURT-SPECIFIC FORMAT]
[DOCUMENT TITLE]

4. Verify Local Variations

| Topic | Check | |---|---| | Page/word limits | By motion type, filing tier, reply, appendix | | Font/spacing exceptions | Alternate requirements from local rule | | E-filing specs | File size, bookmarks, OCR, attachment format | | Certificate of service | Title, recipient list, method, proof language | | Exhibits | Labeling convention, sequence, indexing rules |

5. Filing Preparation Checklist

- [ ] Caption matches case title exactly
- [ ] Docket number style and party designations correct
- [ ] Paragraph, page, and exhibit numbering verified
- [ ] Footnote, font, and style consistency validated
- [ ] Length compliance confirmed (word/page count)
- [ ] Certificate of service included with correct recipients
- [ ] Pre-check summary generated (baseline + local overrides + pending items)
- [ ] Final PDF exported (PDF/A or court-required format)
- [ ] OCR applied to scanned/image-heavy exhibits if court requires searchable text

Pitfalls

Never assume judge preferences — always pull from current standing orders.
Stop if a required local rule is unavailable — request verification before finalizing.
Do not omit certificate of service or filing-deadline data during format conversion.
Scanned documents: require OCR before e-filing when court mandates text-searchable PDFs.
Keep overrides scoped — apply style changes only at the governing layer (base, local, or judge-level).

Key changes from the original:

Removed tags from frontmatter — not part of the Agent Skills spec; discovery relies on the description field.
Tightened description — same triggers and scope, fewer tokens.
Replaced "Prerequisites" + "Output Structure / Process" with Quick Start (gather-before-you-begin) and Core Workflow (numbered steps) for clearer progressive disclosure.
Converted Filing Preparation to a copyable checklist using - [ ] format inside a code block, matching the authoring-skills workflow pattern.
Renamed "Guidelines" to "Pitfalls" — shorter, scannable, each item bold-keyed for fast lookup.
Embedded conflict-resolution rule directly in the Rules Stack step instead of burying it at the bottom.
Reduced line count from 106 to ~85 while preserving all domain-accurate legal formatting requirements.