Appellate practitioners statewide have circled September 17, 2018 on their calendars, marking the effective date for the sweeping changes ushered in by the newly enacted “Practice Rules of the Appellate Division” (22 NYCRR Part 1250) (further references to rules codified in 22 NYCRR will use the familiar shorthand “Rule”). Part 1250 was enacted by the four Judicial Departments by joint order on December 12, 2017, revised by another on June 29, 2018.  It unifies practice among the departments to an extent likely unprecedented. It addresses electronic filing, perfection requirements, informational statements, deadlines, extension requests, motions and a myriad of other areas for which a comprehensive discussion is beyond the scope of this article. Presented here are reasons to cheer this major reform while noting aspects of the new rules that may give appellate litigators who long for true uniformity cause to restrain their enthusiasm.

Here’s a pop quiz to provide some context for the celebratory portion of this article:  You have just been served in hand with a week old order with notice of entry.  Under current rules, how many days do you have in which to move for reargument?  If you answered, “30 days; only the service date matters,” citing CPLR 2221(d)(3), you are correct, assuming the order is from any trial level Supreme Court.