The Federal Bar Association – an excellent group that is worth joining (disclosure: I am a member) – recently held a panel of Northern District judges discussing their chambers and tips for counsel. Here are my notes regarding Judge Dow’s comments:

• Judge Dow allows counsel to appear by phone; sometimes even encourages it for remote counsel and less complex hearings and status conferences.
• He started out writing all of his own opinions, but now writes some and has clerks draft some, with interaction as clerks have questions.
• For voir dire, Judge Dow uses a brief questionnaire tailored to the case, followed by follow- up questions from the Court and the counsel.