Appearances before Judge Mark J. Conway in all cases and adversary proceedings.

ALL Trials and Evidentiary Hearings will be conducted in-person at the Max Rosenn U.S. Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 

In very limited circumstances and only with prior Court approval upon a showing of good cause, Judge Conway will permit witness testimony by remote appearance.  Counsel is advised to comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 9074-1, which inter alia, requires any request to appear remotely be filed at least 7 days prior to the scheduled hearing and include a Certificate of Concurrence/Nonconcurrence for Remote Testimony (L.B.F. 9074-1).   

Remote appearances are permitted for most non-evidentiary hearings.  All parties are required to follow the procedures for remote appearances.

Please note, same day registrations are not permitted. 

All parties are required to wear appropriate and professional courtroom attire. All parties are reminded that they are appearing in Federal Court. Backgrounds should be neutral and free of distractions. All parties must have a strong internet connection and if using a wireless device make sure you remain in close proximity to the connection source.  All parties are responsible for the quality of their audio and video connection.  Appearances from vehicles and outdoors are not permitted. Participants must eliminate all background noise and shall silence any devices that may make noise (e.g., telephone, messaging and e-mail alerts).

The ability to participate remotely is a privilege and available only at the discretion of the Court.  Remote participation may be rescinded if a party fails to comply with Court directives.

Questions regarding appearances may be directed to:
Patricia Ratchford, Courtroom Deputy
Telephone: (570) 831-2509
Email: patricia_ratchford@pamb.uscourts.gov

Parties seeking a continuance of a scheduled hearing must comply with the provisions of Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-4 Continuances, including a certification that the party making the request has sought the concurrence of all interested parties and whether concurrence has been granted or denied.  If the request is a first request, the parties may request a continuance using Local Bankruptcy Form 9013-4.  All other requests must be made via motion.  It is strongly urged that requests to continue be made at the earliest possible time. 

Parties seeking to cancel a hearing due to a settlement of the matter, must comply with the provisions of Local Bankruptcy Rule 9019-1 Settlements and Agreed Orders.  The parties may file a Request to Remove (L.B.F. 9019-1) no later than 24 hours prior to the hearing. 

Questions regarding all scheduling matters may be directed to:
Patricia Ratchford, Courtroom Deputy
Telephone: (570) 831-2509
Email: patricia_ratchford@pamb.uscourts.gov

All motions should comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-1 and be accompanied by a proposed order.  Proposed orders should have one (1) inch margins, utilize Times New Roman 12 point font with at least two (2) inches at the bottom of the order for the insertion of the electronic signature and date. At least one line of text must be included on the page that will bear Judge Conway’s signature and the date of the order. When appropriate, parties are encouraged to utilize the form orders located under the “Form Orders” tab.  It is the filer’s responsibility to ensure that the motion and all other papers are properly served and a certification of service is contemporaneously filed.

For expedited or emergency motions, counsel should comply with Local Bankruptcy Rule 9075-1 Emergency Orders, which requires inter alia, that a motion for expedited consideration be filed with the underlying pleading for which emergency relief is being sought attached as an exhibit and email notification be provided to Chambers: Chambers_of_Judge_Mark_Conway@pamb.uscourts.gov.  Once the motion for expedited consideration is granted, the movant should immediately file the underlying pleading with the hearing date included

Increased use of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), particularly Generative AI (including, but not limited to, OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Bard), in the practice of law raises a number of practical concerns for the Court, including the risk that the generative AI tool might generate legally or factually incorrect information, or that it might create unsupported or nonexistent legal citations. As such, any party, whether appearing pro se or through counsel, who utilizes any generative AI tool in the preparation of any document to be filed in any matter pending before Judge Conway, must include with the document a Certificate of Use of Generative AI in which the party must disclose and certify:

1. The specific AI tool that was used;
2. The portions of the filing prepared by the AI program; and
3. That a person has checked the accuracy of any portion of the document generated by AI, including all citations and legal authority.

Failure to comply with this Order may result in sanctions. Further, all parties and counsel are directed to review the conclusions on pages 15 and 16 of the Joint Formal Opinion of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and Philadelphia Bar Association regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence and be mindful of their ethical and professional obligations before this Court.