Judge Lisa G. Beckerman

Staff Information

One Bowling Green
New York, NY 10004-1408
Chambers: (212) 668-2304
Courtroom: 623

Courtroom Deputy: Chantel Barrett
(212) 284-4026

Law Clerk: Ilayna Guevrekian
(212) 284-4028

Law Clerk: Griselda Cabrera
(212) 284-4027

Law Clerk: Tyler Talton
(212) 284-4561

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Chambers' Rules

Unless otherwise ordered, matters before Judge Beckerman shall be conducted in accordance with any Case Management Order entered in the case and, to the extent not inconsistent, the following practices:

Scheduling

Pursuant to Local Rule 5070-1, a movant or applicant must contact Chambers to obtain a hearing date prior to filing and serving a motion, cross-motion, application, or any other request for relief requiring a hearing. All scheduling requests should be directed by telephone or email to Courtroom Deputy Chantel Barrett at (212) 284-4026 or Chantel_Barrett@nysb.uscourts.gov.

Requests for relief requiring a hearing that are filed without first obtaining a hearing date will not be scheduled for hearing on the Court’s calendar absent leave of Court.

Parties may not grant extensions of time on briefing without prior consent from Chambers, except that parties may agree to modify deadlines without leave of Court, so long as the reply deadline is not affected and existing orders are adhered to. Extensions requiring Court approval should be sought at least twenty-four (24) hours before the affected deadline.

Adjournments require advance Chambers’ approval, which normally will be granted if agreed to by all parties seeking and opposing the relief in question. To seek an adjournment, the requesting party must email a request for adjournment to Chambers that, if the request is not on consent of all interested parties, the party must state the basis for the request. The email request must be copied to all interested parties known to the requesting party.

Requests for adjournment should be made no later than noon on the business day before the scheduled hearing; requests made after that time will be granted only where good cause exists for the untimely request.

All adjournments that have been approved by Chambers prior to the original hearing date must be noticed on the docket with a “Notice of Adjournment” filed as promptly as possible, and prior to the original hearing date. The Notice of Adjournment must identify any deadlines that have been changed in conjunction with the adjournment. A hearing will not be officially adjourned until the Notice of Adjournment is filed on the Electronic Case Filing (ECF) System.

Orders to Show Cause

Parties must contact Chambers prior to filing an order to show cause. (See Local Rule 9077-1(a)). Counsel should be prepared to submit the following documents for the Court’s review: a copy of the underlying motion, a proposed order to show cause (in Word format only), and a supporting affidavit.

If the request for an order to show cause is granted, the papers must be filed on the ECF system. The Court will contact the movant regarding the disposition of the requested order to show cause.

Notices of Presentment

Parties wishing to move by notice of presentment should consult Local Bankruptcy Rule 9074-1 to determine what matters may be handled on presentment. The Rule also describes the notice and filing requirements when presenting a motion or application by presentment.

Motions for relief from stay will not be considered on presentment.

Parties do not need to contact Chambers to schedule a date and time for presentment but must contact the Courtroom Deputy for a hearing date if there is an objection.

After the applicable objection deadline has passed, the underlying motion, a certificate of service, and an electronic version of the proposed order in Word format should be submitted to Chambers prior to the scheduled date and time for presentment. The transmittal communication must represent that (i) the movant sought relief by notice of presentment and (ii) the objection period has passed and no objections were filed.

Submission of Orders

Proposed orders must be filed as an exhibit to moving papers. If prior to a hearing on a motion, the movant anticipates seeking approval of a modified version of its original proposed order, it should file a redlined version to ensure that interested parties and the Court have notice of the modified proposed order that the movant wishes to have approved.

If no timely objection is filed, the movant must file a Certificate of No Objection as promptly as practicable in accordance with Local Rule 9075-2, and preferably no later than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled hearing. If such a certificate is filed, the Court will determine whether the hearing needs to go forward, and, if it determines that no hearing is required, it may enter an order resolving the motion and/or cancelling the scheduled hearing.

Unless otherwise provided by the Court, proposed orders must be submitted by e-mail in Word format, with any exhibits or attachments in PDF format, to beckerman.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov after (i) any hearing on the matter, (ii) the passage of a presentment date with no objections filed, or (iii) any cancellation of a scheduled hearing as to a motion to which no objections were filed. When submitting a proposed order to Chambers for entry when there has not been a hearing, the underlying motion with all exhibits, a certificate of service and a certificate of no objection should be attached to the email in addition to the proposed order. In all cases, if the proposed order differs from the proposed order that was initially submitted with the motion, the submitting party must provide a separate redlined version showing differences between the originally proposed order and the final version.

Do not email any proposed order to individual members of Chambers or the Clerk’s Office unless you are instructed to do so.

All proposed orders submitted to the Court by email should be accompanied by a cover email that contains the following information:
- a. The name, telephone number and email address of the person submitting the order;
- b. The case name and docket number and the ECF document numbers of the relevant motion papers; and
- c. If the relief was granted by the Court, a representation that the relief was granted and the date on which it was granted.

2004 Orders

Requests for 2004 Orders may be submitted to Chambers ex parte, although written notice given to the affected parties is preferred, but the Court in its discretion may require notice and a hearing.

Sealing Orders

Requests for filing and maintaining information under seal may be submitted ex parte and must indicate the grounds for sealing and (if applicable) for proceeding ex parte. The requesting party must provide a proposed order. A party requesting sealing must submit to Chambers both a copy of (i) the relevant document in proposed redacted form for filing on the docket and (ii) an unredacted copy of the same document, labeled “confidential” and with each proposed redacted portion highlighted.

Every proposed order requesting sealing must provide: (i) that the unredacted version of the sealed document[s] shall not be made available to any party without the consent of the party that submitted the document; (ii) for the appropriate disposition of the sealed document[s] at the conclusion of the matter; (iii) that it is without prejudice to the rights of any party in interest, or the United States Trustee, to seek to unseal the document[s] or any part thereof; and (iv) that the movant shall submit an unredacted copy of each sealed document[s] to the Clerk of this Court under seal in an envelope, marked to indicate that the same has been filed under seal by order of this Court, unless at the time of the motion the Court has adopted different procedures for the submission of sealed documents.

Parties should refer to the Copies of Pleadings category below for instructions on how to submit highly sensitive documents to Chambers and should contact Chambers by email with any questions.

Parties should follow the Court’s Interim Under Seal Filing Procedures, available at: https://www.nysb.uscourts.gov/general-orders-and-guidance-created-covid-19.

Conferences

Requests for conferences should ordinarily be made by letter emailed to beckerman.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov together with a follow-up call to Chantel Barrett, Courtroom Deputy. The letter requesting the conference should ordinarily be filed on the ECF system. The letter must be no longer than three (3) pages in length, and should explain (i) the reason for the conference request, (ii) whether a video or telephonic conference is sought, and (iii) whether the requesting party believes the conference should be on the record.

If a telephonic conference is granted and will be conducted without a formal record, the requesting party should submit a conference call-in number and passcode to Chambers. If the conference will be on the record, it will be conducted using Court Solutions or Zoom for Government.

Form and Content of Briefs

Unless ordered otherwise, briefs and motions with embedded argument and citations shall be submitted in text searchable format and include a table of contents, headings, and a table of authorities.

Except as otherwise permitted by the Court, moving and responsive briefs shall be no more than forty (40) pages in length and reply briefs shall be no more than fifteen (15) pages, in each case exclusive of the cover and tables of contents and authorities.

Copies of Pleadings

Parties must provide a copy of every pleading, with exhibits, to Chambers at the time of filing and service. If the Court’s COVID-19 related procedures at the time of filing permit, hard copies should be submitted to Chambers, and should be printed double-sided. During the Court’s COVID-19 related procedures, parties must provide a hard copy if requested by Chambers which will be sent as directed by Chambers. Electronic copies should be emailed to Chambers at beckerman.chambers@nysb.uscourts.gov. Should a party be unable to email a document due to its size, such party should contact Chambers by email. With respect to a motion to seal, a party should email such motion to Chambers together with a Word version of the proposed order, but the party should not send via email a copy of the highly sensitive document that is the subject of the motion to seal. Such document should be sent to Chambers in hard copy only.

"First Day" Motions

Parties wishing to schedule hearings on “first day” motions in Chapter 11 cases should contact Chambers on the date of filing to discuss scheduling of the hearing. Two copies of “first day” motions should be provided to Chambers in advance of the hearing.

It is expected that Debtor’s counsel will have consulted with the United States Trustee in advance regarding all relief to be requested at the “first day” hearing.

Evidentiary Hearings and Trials

Parties in adversary proceedings should be prepared at the first pretrial conference to submit a joint pretrial scheduling order. Judge Beckerman’s form of pretrial scheduling order can be found here.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court anticipates that it will remotely conduct evidentiary hearings and trials. The parties to any such proceeding should confer and jointly propose an order setting forth applicable procedures no later than seven (7) days before the proceeding. Those procedures necessarily will take into account the nature of the proceeding at issue. An example of an appropriate order can be found at In re KB US Holdings, Inc., No. 20-22962 (SHL), Dkt. No. 176 (Sept. 18, 2020).

Unless otherwise directed or authorized by the Court, sworn written direct examinations or proffers should be used for evidentiary hearings and trials. Where such written direct examinations or proffers are used, the witness must be available for cross-examination and redirect. Such sworn written statements shall be exchanged by the parties and submitted to Chambers no later than five (5) days before the hearing or trial.

Unless otherwise provided by the Court, the parties shall exchange pre-marked exhibits (other than those intended to be used for rebuttal or impeachment) no less than fourteen (14) days before a contested evidentiary hearing or trial. No less than five (5) days before the evidentiary hearing or trial, the parties shall have agreed on the admissibility of as many exhibits as possible and provide two complete sets of the exhibits to Chambers in indexed joint exhibit books. Reasonable requests to modify the date for exchange of pre-marked exhibits generally will be granted if the matter’s litigation schedule makes the fourteen (14) day requirement impracticable.

Parties in adversary proceedings must submit to the Court a joint pretrial order at least seven (7) days before the trial date unless the Court orders otherwise. Judge Beckerman’s form of joint pretrial order can be found here.

Parties are encouraged to file motions in limine with respect to proposed evidence whose exclusion will materially affect the conduct of the trial. Such motions must be filed at least fourteen (14) days before trial and if documentary, attach a copy of the proposed evidence, with responses due at least seven (7) days before trial.

Where relatively junior attorneys are familiar with a matter under consideration but have less in-court experience than a colleague, Judge Beckerman will welcome the junior lawyer’s active participation and is amenable to allowing more than one attorney to speak during the proceeding. The ultimate decision of who speaks on behalf of a client rests with counsel, not the Court.

Discovery Disputes

Pursuant to Local Rule 7007-1(b), discovery motions may not be filed until the parties have (i) conferred to attempt to resolve the dispute and (ii) participated in a conference with the Court. Parties should contact Chambers in writing to request a discovery conference, which may be telephonic.

Before any request for a conference on a discovery issue, the party requesting the conference is required to make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute with opposing counsel consistent with Local Rule 7007-1(a). If a conference is requested, the party requesting the conference may submit a writing of not more than two pages in length to the Court on notice to counsel for all affected parties, including opposing counsel, explaining why there is a need for a conference on a discovery issue.

Parties may contact Chambers by telephone regarding disputes that arise during depositions or in other situations requiring immediate judicial attention. Parties should attempt to avoid the need for such applications and must make a good faith effort to resolve a dispute before contacting Chambers.

Telephonic Appearances

Unless the Court provides otherwise, parties wishing to participate in or listen to a telephonic hearing must register online with Court Solutions at www.court-solutions.com. Parties wishing to participate in or listen to a video hearing must register utilizing the Electronic Appearance portal located on the Court’s website at https://ecf.nysb.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/nysbAppearances.pl. No advance Chambers’ permission is required. Further information on how to register with Court Solutions can be found in General Order M-543. Attorneys seeking to participate must be admitted to the Court or admitted pro hac vice. (See Local Rule 2090-1).

Pro-se parties (parties without an attorney) are permitted to participate in telephonic hearings free of charge by signing up with Court Solutions online at www.court-solutions.com or by calling 917-746-7476 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pro-se parties may also participate in video hearing by registering on the Electronic Appearance portal located on the Court’s website at https://ecf.nysb.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/nysbAppearances.pl.

Parties wishing to participate in or listen to a Zoom video hearing should refer to the Procedures for All Hearings Before Judge Beckerman Being Held by Zoom Video for registration and appearance instructions, as well as the Zoom Video Hearing Guide located on the Court’s website at https://www.nysb.uscourts.gov/zoom-video-hearing-guide.

Case Management Orders

Parties are expected to check the docket to ascertain whether a Case Management Order has been entered (or amended), and to comply with the requirements of any such order. In the event of any conflict between these Chambers’ Rules and the requirements of any Case Management Order, the Case Management Order will control.

Miscellaneous

Questions on all other issues should be directed to Chambers, either to Chantel Barrett, Courtroom Deputy, or the law clerk assigned to the case. However, counsel are urged to limit all communications with Chambers to matters that cannot be resolved without such direct communication.

Forms

Calendars

Court Calendar

Zoom Hearings

Our Zoom Video Hearing Guide is a complete reference for information about how to connect to Zoom®

Procedures for All Hearings Before Judge Beckerman Being Held by Zoom Video.

eCourt Appearances

Participants are required to register their appearance by 4:00 PM one business day before any scheduled Zoom® or in person hearing with our new eCourt Appearances tool.

Profile

Lisa G. Beckerman was sworn in as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Southern District of New York on February 26, 2021.

Judge Beckerman received an A.B. from University of Chicago in 1984, an M.B.A. from University of Texas in 1986 and a J.D. from Boston University in 1989. From May 1999 until she was appointed to the bench, she was a partner in the financial restructuring group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. From September 1989 until May 1999, she was an associate and then a partner in the bankruptcy group at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.

Prior to her appointment, she served as a co-chair of the Executive Committee of UJA-Federation of New York's Bankruptcy and Reorganization Group, a co-chair and as a member of the Advisory Board of the American Bankruptcy Institute’s New York City Bankruptcy Conference, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Bankruptcy Institute from 2013 through 2019.

Judge Beckerman is a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy. She is a member of the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ) and the 2021 NCBJ Education Committee. She is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for Boston University School of Law.

United States Bankruptcy Court

Southern District of New York

Honorable Martin Glenn, Chief Judge • Vito Genna, Clerk of Court

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Judge Lisa G. Beckerman

Staff Information

Judge Tabs