How we prepare
Coverage counsel earns its fee in the preparation, not the appearance. Before any hearing we read the moving and responsive papers in full, pull the authorities the parties are fighting about, and check the assigned judge's standing orders and practice pointers — which in Minnesota frequently impose requirements the local rules do not, and which control when they conflict with your assumptions.
Then we get you on the phone. Fifteen minutes, usually: what the argument is, what you are willing to concede, what you absolutely are not, and where the case is going after this hearing. Coverage counsel who has not had that conversation can only read the brief aloud.
What we cover
Watch the calendar math
Minnesota motion practice runs backward from a hearing date you have to obtain first, from court administration or a designated motion calendar deputy — and the party who obtains it must promptly notify opposing counsel so cross-motions can be heard together.
From that date: a dispositive motion's notice, proposed order, affidavits, exhibits, and memorandum must be served and filed at least 28 days before the hearing; the response 14 days before; any reply, limited to new matters raised in the response, 7 days before. Nondispositive motions move the moving party's deadline to 21 days, with the same 14 and 7. Memoranda are capped at 35 pages, and a reply counts against the same 35.
Add to that Minnesota's service arithmetic: 3 days are added to a prescribed period when the triggering document was served by U.S. Mail, and 1 additional day when service by any other means is accomplished after 5:00 p.m. Minnesota time. Practitioners still occasionally cite the old Rule 6.05 for the mail extension — that provision moved into Rule 6.01(e) effective January 1, 2020.
The practical consequence: by the time you know you need coverage, the briefing is usually already fixed. Call early and the appearance is cheap. Call the week of and we will still try, but tell us the real date.
What you get back
A written report the same day or the next morning — what was argued, what the court actually said, what the court seemed to care about, what was ordered, and what we would do next if it were our case. Not "the hearing went fine." If the judge signaled something about the merits, you will hear about it while it is still useful.
Fees
Flexible and agreed in advance. Hourly, or a flat fee for a defined appearance including preparation, depending on which gives you a more predictable number. We will tell you which one we think is fairer for the specific hearing before you commit.
Every matter turns on its own facts, and no result in any prior case predicts or guarantees a result in another. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship.