Ten Steps to Better Case Management

 A Guide for Multidistrict Litigation 

Transferee Court Clerks

Second Edition

United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

&

Federal Judicial Center

2014

This Federal Judicial Center publication was undertaken in furtherance of the Center’s statutory 

mission to develop educational materials for the judicial branch. While the Center regards the 

content as responsible and valuable, it does not reflect policy or recommendations of the Board 

of the Federal Judicial Center.
first printing
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Contents

Preface, v

Introduction, 1

I. Designate One Person to Manage Your MDL, 1

II. Make a Certified Copy of the Transfer Order, 2

III. Create a Master Docket Sheet for the MDL, 2

IV. Send the Required Notifications, 3

V. Request Transfer of Cases Via the CM/ECF Case Transfer Utility, 3

VI. Open Individual Cases, 4

VII. Create and Maintain a Webpage for the MDL, 5

VIII. Customize Your CM/ECF System for the MDL, 5

IX. Follow Clear Rules for Posting and Filing Documents, 6

X. Help Your Judge Follow Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for 

Multidistrict Litigation Transferee Judges, 7

Appendix A: Relevant Statutes and Rules, 8

Appendix B: Sample Notification to Counsel Regarding the Opening of 

an MDL, 10

Appendix C: Sample Email Requesting Transfer of Case Via the CM/ECF 

Case Transfer Utility, 11

Appendix D: Information to Include on a Webpage for an MDL, 12

Appendix E: Other Resources, 13

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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Preface

The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and the Federal 

Judicial Center hope that this booklet will help you manage your multidistrict litigation (MDL) successfully.

Congress created the Panel under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 and gave it the responsibility to transfer “civil actions involving one or more common questions of 

fact” to any single district for coordinated pretrial proceedings. District 

courts from which cases are transferred are known as transferor courts. A district court to which an MDL is transferred is referred to as the transferee court.

Good organization and aggressive case management are fundamental to 

the successful administration of an MDL. MDLs are different from other cases. They typically have multiple plaintiffs and defendants. They tend to generate voluminous amounts of discovery. The attorneys often are located 

outside the transferee jurisdiction. Finally, the ultimate size of an MDL almost always is unknown at its inception. An MDL that at first appears to 

involve a few cases may grow rapidly into one involving hundreds, or more.

A transferee court clerk’s office faces two major challenges at the beginning of any MDL. First, the office must implement a system of case management that maximizes efficiency and minimizes error. Second, the office must 

decipher the rules and procedures specific to multidistrict litigation to ensure that the case is set up properly. 

The Case Management/Electronic Case Filing System (CM/ECF), which 

is now utilized by all federal district courts and the Panel, has streamlined 

the administration of these types of cases. We have offered some suggestions 

for implementing CM/ECF to improve MDL case management.

Thank you and thanks to your district for taking on the responsibility for 

your new MDL. We hope this booklet will help you. We are indebted to 

Sarah Jael Dion, law clerk to Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, for her hard 

work in the preparation of this booklet.

John G. Heyburn II

Chairman, United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

U.S. District Court Judge

Western District of Kentucky

Jeremy D. Fogel

Director, Federal Judicial Center

U.S. District Court Judge

Northern District of California

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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Introduction

Your court may learn of an impending MDL when a Panel member contacts 

a potential transferee judge in your district to obtain his or her agreement to 

take an assignment. If the answer is affirmative, the Panel sends the chief 

judge of the transferee district an email seeking his or her consent to the assignment. Within a week of receiving the consent of the chief judge, the 

Panel (via CM/ECF) sends the transferee court clerk an order transferring a 

designated group of cases to the transferee judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§ 1407(c). 

The Panel recommends that the clerk of the transferee court, in consultation with the transferee judge, take the following steps to organize and manage the new MDL at the earliest possible time.

I. Designate One Person to Manage Your MDL

Assign an experienced docket clerk (hereinafter, the MDL docket clerk) to 

take responsibility for all aspects of MDL case management. The MDL docket clerk must become proficient with the statutes and rules that govern multidistrict litigation. The most relevant statutes and rules are listed in 

Appendix A. The MDL docket clerk should serve as the main contact person 

for counsel, the Panel, chambers, and other court employees on matters relating to the clerk’s office’s handling of the multidistrict litigation.

a. Assign other employees to assist the MDL docket clerk

The MDL docket clerk must ask for assistance as soon as it is needed, and 

should maintain frequent contact with their clerk of court to assess independently the need for additional support. Insufficient staffing can turn a 

well-managed case into one plagued by delay, disorganization, and error. 

b. Assign a CM/ECF programmer or administrator to the MDL

The clerk of court should select a CM/ECF programmer/administrator to 

become familiar with the applicable rules and particular demands of MDL 

case management and to employ the technological resources of the court to 

address those demands.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

II. Make a Certified Copy of the Transfer Order

Section 1407(c) requires the clerk of the transferee court to transmit a certified copy of the Panel’s transfer order to the clerk of each transferor court. 

The best way to do this is to upload a PDF file of the transfer order from the 

electronic notification or NEF received from the Panel. Apply a file stamp, 

the transferee judge’s name stamp, and the required certification to the document.

III. Create a Master Docket Sheet for the MDL

Every MDL must have a master docket sheet to represent activity in the centralized action, which is referred to as the master, lead, coordinated, or main 

case.

a. Assign the lead case the same case number given by the Panel

Assign the lead action the same case number assigned by the Panel, using the 

case type md, for multidistrict litigation. The correct format is: year + md + 

multidistrict litigation case number. For example, if the Panel assigns a multidistrict litigation the case number “MDL No. 1800” and the current year is 

2014, the transferee court’s master docket case number should be 14-md1800. This number will appear on all pleadings filed in both the main and 

individual actions.

b. Assign the coordinated action the same name given by the Panel

Use the same short case title that the Panel has assigned. For example: IN RE: 

Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Products Liability Litigation. 

c. File the Panel’s initial transfer order in the master docket sheet

You must file a copy of the initial transfer order in the new MDL master 

docket. This causes the transfer to become effective under Section 1407(c). 

d. Notation in master docket

Make a notation on the master docket sheet that reference must be made to 

individual docket sheets for entries relating only to individual actions. The 

individual member cases will be associated in CM/ECF with the lead case. 

This system association allows CM/ECF users to identify easily cases that are 

part of the MDL by checking “List of member cases” when pulling up the 

docket sheet for the main case.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

IV. Send the Required Notifications 

The MDL docket clerk must make the following notifications throughout 

the life of the MDL.

a. Notify the Panel of the following important events

Send notification of the posting of the initial transfer order to the Panel at 

the following address: PANELMDL@jpml.uscourts.gov. Additionally, you 

must notify the Panel of the following case events: 1) master document number; 2) transferee numbers assigned to civil actions; 3) appointment of liaison counsel; 4) individual case closings; 5) suggestions of remand; 6) severance orders; and 7) related civil actions filed directly in your court. You can 

configure CM/ECF to prompt Panel email notification of an order falling 

within these parameters.

b. Notify the attorneys

Send notification of the opening of the master docket to all attorneys involved in the MDL. Appendix B contains a sample docket entry notifying 

attorneys of the opening of a new MDL. Once liaison counsel have been appointed, note on the master docket sheet the attorneys who are functioning 

in that capacity. Liaison counsel usually assume the obligation of service for 

all documents posted on the master docket sheet.

V. Request Transfer of Cases Via the CM/ECF Case 

Transfer Utility

The initial transfer order, as well as all subsequent conditional transfer orders, will list the cases to be transferred, their transferor districts, and their 

original case numbers. The MDL docket clerk in the transferee district 

should email the clerk of court in each transferor district to request electronic transfer of case files. Appendix C contains a sample transfer request.

CM/ECF contains an interdistrict case transfer utility that streamlines 

the transfer of cases in MDLs. This is the fastest and most efficient method 

of transferring cases. Use the Extract Civil Case utility to extract all relevant 

data on the case to be transferred. Once this process is complete, the system 

sends a URL to the MDL docket clerk in the transferee district. The MDL 

docket clerk inserts the URL into the CM/ECF Prepare Transferred Case program, which creates a docket sheet for the action in the transferee court. 

The result is a docket sheet that is accurate and easy to read. For detailed 

instructions on using these features, refer to the most recent CM/ECF Application Administrator’s Guide, Transferring Civil Cases between Districts. 
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Note that using the CM/ECF case transfer utility obviates requesting a certified copy of the transferor court docket sheet.

Be aware that a few district courts have not yet adopted the case transfer 

utility. To transfer a case from such a transferor court, open a new case and 

upload a PDF of each document on the transferor court docket sheet.

VI. Open Individual Cases

Using the CM/ECF case transfer utility, create a separate docket sheet for 

each individual case transferred to the MDL. This allows the MDL docket 

clerk to select entries to be transferred from the transferor district, including 

counsel contact information, case flags, and PDFs of all case documents. The 

CM/ECF case transfer utility also performs certain tasks automatically. For 

example, the utility automatically includes a reference to the transferor 

court and transferor court case number on the docket sheet of the transferee 

court action. It also automatically creates an entry following all transferred 

documents, specifying which entries were transferred.

a. Assign a case number and caption for each transferred action

Although the master docket’s case type is multidistrict litigation (md), the 

individual cases generally should be classified as civil (cv). Assign a new case 

number as you would any newly filed civil action, according to district practice, and retain the original case caption from the transferor court case.

b. Associate the action with the lead case

Each individual action in the MDL must be associated in CM/ECF with the 

lead case. When opening an action using the CM/ECF case transfer utility, 

the system inquires whether the case is related to any other actions. Indicate 

that the case originated as the result of a transfer order from the Panel, enter 

the lead case number, and the case will be properly associated.

c. Reassign local cases to the MDL

Cases filed in the transferee district that properly are part of an MDL (the 

Panel refers to these actions as xyz cases) should be reassigned to the transferee judge, if necessary, and associated with the master docket. This reassignment is made locally, without action on the part of the Panel.

Once the MDL is under way, the transferee judge likely will order counsel 

to identify newly filed local cases with the MDL case number. In the meantime, intake clerks should be made aware of the existence of the MDL, and 

should attempt to spot related cases as they are filed in the transferee district, 

so that these cases may be assigned directly to the transferee judge.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

d. Send all required notifications

Send notification of individual case openings to the Panel, to the attorneys 

on the master list, and to the attorneys in the individual action being transferred.

VII. Create and Maintain a Webpage for the MDL

In many cases it can be very helpful to create a webpage for your MDL. A 

webpage can streamline MDL case management and conserve government 

resources. You can do this on the court’s public access website. The initial 

investment of time will save clerk’s office and chambers employees many 

hours of interaction. Once a CM/ECF employee has created the webpage, 

even non-CM/ECF employees can perform regular maintenance (posting 

new orders online, updating contact information), according to district preference. It may prove most efficient to provide chambers staff direct editing 

access to the webpage. See Appendix D for suggested webpage content.

VIII. Customize Your CM/ECF System for the MDL

CM/ECF can help optimize MDL case management in the following ways:

a. Create multidistrict litigation-specific filing events 

Create filing events specific to the MDL context, such as case management 

order, conditional transfer order, conditional remand order, and order appointing liaison counsel. Having specific filing events at the ready makes 

posting orders more efficient and increases the clarity of docket sheets. Use 

of these events also makes running docket activity reports easier and assists 

those performing quality control review.

b. Utilize the spread text and spread effects functionality

CM/ECF has a spread text function, which can be used internally or externally. Internally, this function allows a docket clerk to create one docket entry that can be posted simultaneously in multiple actions. For example, if the 

transferee judge signs a single order that dismisses multiple cases, the MDL 

docket clerk can use the function to post the order to all affected cases at 

once. Externally, the spread text feature allows attorneys to file a document 

relating to more than one action in all affected cases without having to file it 

multiple times. 

For quality control reasons, some courts restrict the spread text function 

to internal use. In that case, when an attorney files a motion relating to more 

than one action in the master docket, the MDL docket clerk should utilize 
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

the internal spread text functionality to copy that motion, or post a docket 

entry referencing that motion, into all affected actions.

Similarly, CM/ECF has a spread effects function. This function allows 

modifications or additions to case status to be spread to multiple actions. 

For example, a docket clerk can use the spread effects function to place a case 

flag in multiple cases simultaneously or to update an attorney’s contact information in all cases in which he or she appears.

c. Set up automatic notifications 

CM/ECF also can increase efficiency by sending automatic email notifications to attorneys or to the Panel. You can configure CM/ECF to prompt 

email notification of orders falling within assigned parameters.

d. Create multidistrict litigation-specific ECF forms and form-based filing events

CM/ECF programmers or administrators can prepare forms to streamline 

the creation of frequently issued orders. ECF forms are similar to the templates that can be created in word-processing programs, but because ECF 

forms draw data from the case management system itself, they are faster and 

more accurate. Examples of such forms include scheduling orders and orders to show cause.

IX. Follow Clear Rules for Posting and Filing Documents

Every MDL has a master docket sheet, which represents action in the centralized case, as well as a docket sheet for each individual action transferred 

to the litigation. All MDL documents fall into one of the following three categories: documents relating to all actions; documents relating to two or 

more, but not all, individual actions; and documents relating to a single individual action. There are differing views on how to post different types of 

documents. 

The Panel recommends that clerk’s offices follow the three rules set forth 

below:

a. File documents relating to all actions on the master docket sheet and 

on the docket sheet of each individual action.

b. File documents relating to two or more, but not all, individual actions 

on the master docket sheet and on the docket sheet of each affected 

individual action.

c. Post documents affecting a single individual action on the docket 

sheet of that action and on the master docket sheet.

Please note that a motion filed in more than one case will appear multiple 

times on the transferee judge’s motion report. Accordingly, when the court 
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

issues an order resolving a motion filed in more than one action, the MDL 

docket clerk must terminate that motion in each case in which it was filed. 

X. Help Your Judge Follow Ten Steps to Better Case 

Management: A Guide for Multidistrict Litigation 

Transferee Judges

The purpose of centralizing cases under § 1407 is to eliminate delay and inconvenience. This goal is met most readily when clerk’s office staff and 

chambers work together to manage an MDL. Adopting the suggestions in 

this guide will prove ineffectual if the transferee judge and his or her team do 

not move equally quickly to organize the new MDL. For this reason, the 

clerk’s office staff should help the transferee judge with such pressing matters as organizing an initial meeting of parties, establishing a master discovery schedule, and prioritizing pending motions. Clerk’s office staff also 

should ensure that chambers employees who post documents on CM/ECF 

are familiar with the rules for filing and posting of documents. In general, 

the clerk’s office should help the transferee judge follow the steps outlined in 

Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for Multidistrict Litigation 

Transferee Judges.

Again, thank you for undertaking the challenge and public service of handling your MDL assignment.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Appendix A: Relevant Statutes and Rules

Multidistrict litigation is subject to all of the usual rules for civil cases, such 

as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the transferee district’s local rules, 

but there also are statutes and rules specific to this context. In addition, 

transferee court judges typically use case management orders to govern certain aspects of case management. The MDL docket clerk, and all other employees assisting with the multidistrict litigation, must be familiar with the 

following:

a. 28 U.S.C. § 1407, Multidistrict Litigation

Section 1407 of the U.S. Code provides for the existence of the Panel and is 

the source of the Panel’s authority to transfer related actions to a single district court judge for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. 

b. Rules of Procedure of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict 

Litigation, 277 F.R.D. 480 (J.P.M.L. 2011)

The Panel’s Rules of Procedure can be found at the Panel’s website: http://

www.jpml.uscourts.gov. These rules govern, among other things, the transfer of files from transferor to transferee courts and the termination and remand of actions.

c. District Court Clerk’s Manual, Chapter 7, Civil Cases in District Courts: 

§ 7.03(c) and (d) Venue, Multidistrict Litigation

This subsection on venue acknowledges the burden that multidistrict litigation can place on a clerk’s office and suggests certain organizational techniques to assist with clerical work.

d. District Court Clerk’s Manual, Chapter 11, Multidistrict Litigation: § 11.08 

Transferee District Court Clerks

This section contains most of the direction previously available for clerks of 

court managing multidistrict litigation. It contains instructions (many of 

which are repeated herein) for opening actions, maintaining the master 

docket sheet, and many other administrative tasks central to MDL case management. Some of the information in this section is in the process of being 

updated.

e. Case Management Orders

The MDL docket clerk and all employees assisting with the multidistrict litigation should be familiar with whatever case management orders are signed 

by the transferee judge. These orders often contain very specific instructions 

that, as a practical matter, supersede the usual procedural rules.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

f. Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for Multidistrict Litigation 

Transferee Judges

This joint Panel/FJC publication contains MDL case management guidance 

for transferee judges and chambers staff.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Appendix B: Sample Notification to Counsel Regarding 

the Opening of an MDL

Post a docket entry as follows, and send it to all counsel involved in the MDL:

NOTICE TO ALL COUNSEL: MDL No. __-md-_____ has been opened 

and assigned to Judge ________. See Docket for further entries.

As the case proceeds, counsel may be alerted to updated case listings, or Case 

Management Orders in a similar fashion. However, once Liaison Counsel are 

appointed and shoulder the responsibility of service for documents posted 

in the lead case, such docket entries will no longer be necessary.
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Appendix C: Sample Email Requesting Transfer of Case 

Via the CM/ECF Case Transfer Utility

MDL No. 1407, IN RE: Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Products Liability 

Litigation. 

Conditional Transfer Order No. 2

Dear Clerk of Court:

Attached is a certified copy of CTO 2 from the United States Judicial Panel on 

Multidistrict Litigation ordering the transfer of a case currently pending in 

your district: John Doe, et al. v. Pharmaceutical Company A, et al., S.D. 

Mississippi Case No. 02-222. Pursuant to this order, John Doe, et al. v. 

Pharmaceutical Company A, et al., S.D. Mississippi Case No. 02-222 must be 

transferred to the Western District of Washington. 

Please file the attached, certified copy of the CTO in the affected case, and 

close the case.

Please transmit the record of this case to the Western District of 

Washington using the CM/ECF Case Transfer utility. 

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by email [insert MDL docket clerk’s direct email address] or by telephone at [insert direct telephone 

number].

[Insert email signature]

 

Attachment: Certified Copy of CTO No. 2

cc: United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Appendix D: Information to Include on a Webpage 

for an MDL

The following information should be included on a multidistrict litigation 

webpage:

• Case name and master docket sheet case number

• Brief description of the subject of the case

• Name of the judge presiding over the case

• List of court staff, along with their contact information

• Names of liaison counsel, along with their contact information

In addition, it is useful to include the following types of orders in PDF:

• Case management orders 

• Transfer orders from the Panel 

• Orders applicable to more than one case

• Individual case orders affecting one case, but potentially pertinent to 

others

• Suggestion of remand orders
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Ten Steps to Better Case Management: A Guide for MDL Transferee Court Clerks

Appendix E: Other Resources

United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation

Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building

One Columbus Circle, N.E.

Room G-255, North Lobby

Washington, DC 20002-8004 

Telephone: (202) 502-2800

FAX: (202) 502-2888 

CM/ECF Helpdesk: (202) 502-2822

http://jpml.ao.dcn (internal)

http://www.jpml.uscourts.gov (external)

The Panel’s website includes links to the full texts of statutes and rules governing multidistrict litigation, as well as information about the Panel itself, 

and all pending MDLs.

U.S. Courts Website

The J-Net and the U.S. courts’ website, http://www.uscourts.gov, contain 

links to the websites of all federal courts, statistical reports, and other information that may be useful to transferee court clerks.

Manual for Complex Litigation

For detailed information on many aspects of MDL case administration, refer 

to the Manual for Complex Litigation, Fourth (2004), which is produced by the 

Federal Judicial Center. It and other resources can be obtained on FJC Online 

(http://fjconline.fjc.dcn), the Center’s website on the courts’ intranet.