THE FIRST DEPARTMENT’S TERM CALENDAR – TIMING IS EVERYTHING

The New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, publishes a Term Calendar

setting forth opening argument dates and filing deadlines. That calendar is the Court’s

scheduling backbone, allowing the Court to move a high volume of appeals quickly from

perfection to argument and decision.

The Term Calendar, combined with the Court’s efficient turnaround, allows counsel to time

the appeal's perfection date to meet their strategic goals.

Perfecting an Appeal in the First Department

Most civil appeals must be perfected within six months of the date of the Notice of Appeal or an Order Granting Leave to Appeal. Generally, two extensions are available to appellants as of right; further extensions require motion practice.

The deadline to perfect your appeal is separate from the Court’s Term deadlines. Unless

ordered by the Court, you may perfect your appeal for any term as long as it is before the

deadline to perfect your appeal.

The First Department’s Summer Recess

The First Department runs ten terms a year with filing deadlines and argument dates. The

date you perfect your appeal determines which term your appeal is placed. Although

The Court does not hear arguments in July and August; the last term before the summer

recess is the June Term. For 2026, the June Term deadline to perfect is March 23rd, which

means that appeals perfected after the February Term deadline and on or before March 23rd will be placed on the June Term. Appeals perfected after March 23rd and on or before July 13th are placed on the September Term.

The September Term respondent brief deadline runs into August, and arguments are

scheduled in the fall. That shift commonly pushes decisions for appeals perfected after the

June Term into the following calendar year.

Practical checklist for appellate teams practicing in the First Department

• Map the six‐month window from the date on the notice of appeal to your internal

timeline.

• Target the June Term cutoff when a same‐year argument or decision matters.

• Strategically use extensions and the term deadlines to meet your timing goals.

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Natalia Williamson

Senior Appellate Consultant and VP of Sales

natalia@eparalegal.net

914-298-4420