**IMPORTANT NEW PROCEDURE**
In view of the Amended General Orders issued by the Court during the public health emergency, the magistrate judge has adopted revised procedures in which, for now, there are no motion or status calls. Status reports are being requested and submitted in writing. Motions are being decided on the filings or upon oral argument, as ordered by the Court. Parties are encouraged to review the revised standing orders on the Court's website.
Communications with Chambers: For case related matters or procedural issues, the Court strongly prefers email communication with the courtroom deputy, with a copy to opposing counsel. Substantive issues must be raised by motion, not email.
Courtesy Copies: Courtesy copies are not required at this time. All electronically filed documents should be made word searchable before being filed on the CM/ECF system.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel A. Fuentes was appointed on May 31, 2019. From March 2006 through May 2019, he was a partner at the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block, where he co-chaired the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, conducted internal investigations, and represented individuals and corporations in federal and state criminal and civil matters, antitrust litigation, First Amendment and media law, and complex class actions. Judge Fuentes has spoken, written, and litigated concerning proper limits on the use of expert testimony in criminal cases. From June 2001 through March 2006, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, Judge Fuentes investigated and prosecuted a wide array of criminal matters, tried and argued multiple cases to verdict and through appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and engineered the safe return of three U.S. citizen children being held unlawfully in the Kingdom of Jordan. Prior to his government service, Judge Fuentes was an associate and then partner at Jenner & Block from 1994 through June 2001, litigating complex civil matters. Judge Fuentes, who served as a law clerk to the Hon. John F. Grady in the Northern District of Illinois, holds a Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, where he currently teaches trial practice as an adjunct faculty member. He is a former president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, a board member of the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, and a former commissioner on the American Bar Association’s Commission on Youth At Risk. He also is an active member of the Illinois Latino Judges’ Association, the Hispanic Lawyers’ Association of Illinois, and the Hispanic National Bar Association, which named him Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year in 2015. Before attending law school, Judge Fuentes worked as a professional journalist for news media organizations including the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the City News Bureau of Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
