The Court will set all newly filed cases for an initial status around 40 days from the filing of the complaint (cases removed from state court might have a quicker initial status). At least three business days before the initial status hearing, the parties shall file a joint written status report, not to exceed five pages in length. The status report shall provide information about the case using the format of the template at the link below.

Judge Chang is participating in the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project. Please navigate to the District's home page and click on the link for the Mandatory Initial Discovery Pilot Project. There you will find the Standing Order governing initial discovery, as well as useful checklists and training materials. Lawyers and litigants covered by the Pilot Project cannot opt-out of it and must follow the Standing Order. Please note that if there is a dispute (which should be unlikely) over the terms of a discovery confidentiality order, then the parties still must meet the Mandatory Initial Discovery deadlines, but they may make the specific disclosures for attorney's eye's only until the dispute is resolved (either by the parties or by the Court). On that note, the District has a Model Confidentiality Order form, available on the District's home page under "More Useful Links."

Initial Status Report