JUDGE LAURA M. PROVINZINO
PRACTICE POINTERS AND PREFERENCES
Revised July 2026
Contact with Chambers
• Parties, attorneys, and their staff should contact Judge Provinzino’s
courtroom deputy regarding pending cases at
[email protected].
• Judge Provinzino’s courtroom deputy will not give legal advice but will
answer questions about Judge Provinzino’s policies and preferences.
Motion Practice
• Judge Provinzino schedules motion hearings after the motion is filed.
The courtroom deputy will generally email the parties with a suggested
date when the court is ready to schedule the hearing, typically after
receipt of responsive briefing from the non-moving party. Given this
process, the moving party does not need to contact Judge Provinzino’s
chambers for a hearing date. In addition, the moving party does not
need to file a Notice of Hearing with its motion; the Court will issue a
Notice of Hearing after the hearing date has been set.
• If the parties agree that a motion can be decided on the papers without
a hearing, they should file a Notice of Hearing indicating that
agreement. Judge Provinzino may still order a hearing following the
completion of briefing if she feels it would be beneficial.
• Parties are required to make the meet-and-confer requirement of Local
Rule 7.1(a) productive. To that end, Judge Provinzino requests that the
parties provide in the meet-and-confer statement the manner in which
the parties met (whether in person, video conference, telephone, or
email), the date they met, and the length of time the parties engaged in
discussions.
• Parties seeking an expedited proceeding, such as a Temporary
Restraining Order (“TRO”), should file their motion and accompanying
pleadings. The moving party should then serve the motion on the other
party and email the courtroom deputy to provide contact information
for all parties. The Court will provide a hearing date and briefing
schedule, if necessary, after reviewing the motion.
• Motions to remand, motions to transfer venue, and motions to compel
arbitration are to be briefed as dispositive motions under the Local
Rules. In addition, Daubert and Markman motions are treated as
dispositive motions.
• The scheduling of Daubert motions varies depending on the nature of
the motion.
o Sometimes a party seeks to bring a Daubert motion in connection
with a dispositive motion. Generally, the party argues that the
testimony of an expert witness should be excluded and that,
without such testimony, a claim or defense of the opposing party
must be dismissed. This type of Daubert motion should be
brought contemporaneously with the dispositive motion, and both
the Daubert motion and the dispositive motion should be
addressed in the same memoranda. For purposes of the word‐
count limit in Local Rule 7.1(f), the Daubert motion and the
dispositive motion are treated as a single motion.
o Sometimes a party seeks to bring a Daubert motion that will
exclude the anticipated trial testimony of an expert witness but
that will not eliminate the need to try a claim or defense. This
type of Daubert motion should be brought as a motion in limine.
• TROs, preliminary injunctions, and Daubert motions are typically
handled without witness testimony. If a party intends to present
witness testimony at such a hearing, the party must notify the Court
and the opposing party and provide witness and exhibit lists as soon as
possible but no later than three court days before the hearing.
• Parties may not file a motion for summary judgment before the close of
discovery unless they have sought and received permission from the
Court.
o A party seeking such permission must file a letter of no more
than three pages succinctly stating the relief sought; whether it
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is fully or only partially dispositive; whether the request for early
consideration of summary judgment is opposed; and the reason
the motion should be considered before the close of discovery
(clearly specifying whether close of fact or expert discovery).
o The opposing party may file a responsive letter of no more than
three pages within seven days of the filing of the initial letter
request.
o Denial of a request for permission to file an early dispositive
motion shall not be taken as an indication of the Court’s view
about the merits of the proposed motion.
Written Submissions
• Parties must adhere to the word‐count and page limits set forth in the
Local Rules. Motions to enlarge the word‐count limit are disfavored.
Such requests must be filed at least three court days in advance of the
filing of the subject brief in accordance with Local Rule 7.1(f)(1)(D).
The enlarged brief should not be filed unless and until the request is
granted.
• Judge Provinzino does not require courtesy copies of motion filings
unless specifically requested.
• Digital media should be provided on a data storage device (such as a
thumb drive or external hard drive) and delivered to the Clerk’s Office.
• If exhibits are attached to a filing, each exhibit should be filed
separately as an attachment to the filing on ECF. Including a brief
description of the filing on ECF is very helpful to the Court. If possible,
exhibits containing text should be in a searchable format.
• If a party intends to submit a deposition transcript as an exhibit, Judge
Provinzino prefers full-page versions rather than “compact” versions
(for example, transcripts with four transcript pages on one exhibit
page).
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• Parties may submit excerpted deposition transcripts, but they must
include the cover page, signature or verification page, and at least the
two pages before and after any excerpted portion.
• Parties should pay particular attention to the Local Rules and ECF
rules when filing sealed and redacted documents.
• Parties do not need advance permission from the Court to file
supplemental authority.
o A party seeking to file supplemental authority must file (1) a
letter brief of no more than three pages explaining the authority’s
relevance to the specific issues of the case, and (2) a copy of the
authority.
o The opposing party may file a responsive letter brief of no more
than three pages within seven days of the filing of the
supplemental authority.
In‐Court Proceedings
• Try to arrive at least 15 minutes before the hearing is scheduled.
Judge Provinzino begins hearings at the scheduled time. Hearings are
in person unless otherwise indicated. Requests for remote hearings
may be made to the courtroom deputy but will not be granted absent
good cause.
• Double-check the location of the hearing in advance. Judge Provinzino
currently holds hearings in Courtroom 3A at the St. Paul courthouse,
though she may on occasion hold hearings in other courtrooms or
courthouses.
• Observe formal decorum in the courtroom. Stand at the lectern when
addressing the Court so that Judge Provinzino and her court reporter
will have no difficulty hearing you and an accurate record of the
proceedings can be made. Judge Provinzino expects that the parties act
with civility toward each other and the Court.
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• Judge Provinzino carefully reads the briefs before oral argument.
Judge Provinzino will not use oral argument to listen to attorneys
summarize what is in the briefs; instead, she will use oral argument to
engage in a back‐and‐forth discussion of the case with the attorneys.
Counsel should be prepared to answer detailed questions about the
case, including questions about the evidence in the record.
• Judge Provinzino generally does not place time limits on the attorneys
at oral argument but no more than 15 minutes per side is a good
benchmark. Oral argument may be extended at the direction of Judge
Provinzino who will make sure that the parties have had an
opportunity to answer all of her questions and the attorneys have made
their points.
• Given the focus of the motions hearing as a discussion between Judge
Provinzino and the attorneys, a party may not use PowerPoint to
summarize or restate arguments or to add new arguments or evidence.
A party may use PowerPoint to examine or highlight a particular
portion of the record, such as the language of a contract or a
photograph of a product at issue.
• If a party plans to use PowerPoint or other visual aids during a
hearing, the party should provide an electronic copy to opposing
counsel and the Court at least one court day in advance of the hearing.
There is no need to provide copies of visual aids that have already been
filed as exhibits with the motion.
• Please become familiar with courtroom technology before using it.
Information can be found at https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/courtroom-
technology. To ensure adequate preparation, parties should email the
courtroom deputy and request time to use the courtroom in advance of
the hearing.
• Judge Provinzino prefers that the attorney who drafted or contributed
significantly to the underlying motion or response argue at motion
hearings, which may be a newer attorney.
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• Judge Provinzino strongly encourages parties to find opportunities for
newer attorneys to present at motion hearings and other court
appearances. Judge Provinzino believes it is critical to provide
substantive speaking opportunities to newer attorneys and that the
benefits of doing so will accrue to the newer attorneys, clients, and the
profession generally. If any special accommodations are needed to
allow for this preferred practice (such as dividing time, bifurcating
arguments, an opportunity to consult with experienced counsel during
argument, or allowing experienced counsel a few extra minutes at the
end of the motion hearing), please email the courtroom deputy ahead of
time and those arrangements will be freely made.
• If a party plans to cite new legal authority at oral argument, that party
should provide the authority to Judge Provinzino and opposing counsel
at least one court day ahead of the hearing by email.
Settlement Conferences
• Judge Provinzino refers all settlement conferences to the assigned
Magistrate Judge. The Court will allow more than one settlement
conference in a case.
Transcripts and other Court Reporter-related Issues
• Attorneys should contact Judge Provinzino’s court reporter, Lynne
Krenz, by email at
[email protected], before the start
of any trial or hearing if real-time or daily copy transcripts are being
requested. Attorneys should give the court reporter as much lead time
as possible to accommodate the request.
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Resources for Pro Se Litigants
• Pro se litigants can find free, online access to the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure (https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/federal-rules) and the local
rules (https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/court-info/local-rules-and-orders).
Additionally, the District’s website has a number of other resources for
pro se litigants at https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/representing-yourself.
Judge Provinzino expects that pro se parties will follow the same rules
that govern attorneys but will extend patience to parties less familiar
with the rules and court proceedings.
Trial Preparations
• The parties should be prepared to proceed with trial by the trial
readiness date set by the magistrate judge, but that date is not a date
certain.
• After summary judgment motions have been ruled on, Judge
Provinzino’s courtroom deputy will reach out to the parties to schedule
a status conference. At the status conference, Judge Provinzino will
discuss potential trial dates with the parties.
• After a trial date has been set, Judge Provinzino will issue a Trial
Notice that includes a number of deadlines in preparation for trial. For
a sample Trial Notice (both civil and criminal), please see
https://www.mnd.uscourts.gov/LMP.
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