Hon. Paul F. Kraus became Ottawa County's fifth Circuit Court Judge on January 1, 2023. Judge Kraus serves in the Family Division of the Circuit Court and his docket includes adoptions, child neglect/abuse cases, juvenile delinquency, divorce, and other domestic matters. Prior to becoming judge, he worked for the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office, serving as a senior assistant prosecuting attorney and the family unit division director. In that capacity, he advocated for protecting children in neglect and abuse cases and handled a caseload of felony child abuse. Judge Kraus provided legal representation to the Ottawa County Department of Health and Human Services and served on the Ottawa County Child Death Review Team. Before this, Judge Kraus was an attorney in a medium-sized law firm in Holland, Michigan, where he had a family law and criminal defense practice and also served as the Deputy Holland City Attorney. He started his legal career as an Assistant Attorney General for the Iowa Department of Justice where, over the course of nearly 10 years, he served as lead counsel on over 900 cases related to sexual abuse, child abuse and neglect, and dependent adult abuse. During his tenure with the Attorney General’s Office, Judge Kraus represented the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and became a recognized leader on issues related to child welfare. Judge Kraus is an active philanthropist and is past-president of the Ottawa County Bar Association, past-president of the Corpus Christi Foundation, and a regular youth softball and baseball coach, and he is currently appointed by the State Bar of Michigan to a task force devoted to the promotion of professionalism and civility in the practice of law.
Where can lawyers find your courtroom protocols, and what is something that lawyers often miss about them? The 20th Circuit Court does not have formal protocols outside of an expectation of professionalism and civility. It is also important for lawyers and litigants to be familiar with 20th Circuit Court local rules (for example, Rule 2.518) and to pay particular attention to scheduling orders that have specific guidance based on case type.
Is there anything unique about your motion call process that lawyers should know?
Unlike some counties where many motions are scheduled for the same time, in Ottawa County, each motion is given a dedicated time for the parties to present their case. When scheduling motions with the judicial assistant, it is important for attorneys and parties to be accurate about how long the motion will take. Based on this and to help prevent delay to other matters, the judicial assistant will make a judgment call as to how much time to allocate on docket.
For lawyers who have never been in your courtroom, what is your check-in process?
My courtroom has no formal check-in process. When counsel or parties are scheduled to appear, generally, they come to the back of the courtroom and wait for their case to be called. If there is more than a few minutes of delay from the scheduled docket time, please check with the judicial assistant who will have info when court will resume. The judicial assistant’s contact information is posted in the courtroom, so it is accessible to all parties.
What are your preferences for how lawyers handle proposed and stipulated orders?
Best practice is for attorneys to bring filled out orders with them with the relief they are requesting. It is also wise to bring an additional copy that has blank spaces for customization or changes in case the result is different from the desired result. If the attorneys do not have a filled-out order, I typically assign who is responsible for the order with a deadline for submission.
Are there particular members of your staff that lawyers should contact about certain things?
All 20th Circuit Court judges have judicial assistants who control scheduling.
What types of pretrial conferences do you hold, and what information and forms do you require at them?
Divorce actions have a pretrial conference scheduled with certain deadlines related to discovery and briefing that are required to be completed before the conference. Look carefully at the scheduling order that outlines responsibilities throughout the case, and pay particular attention to deadlines for pretrial and trial.
What do you think makes a written motion or brief compelling or persuasive?
Brevity can be an ally. A brief should not be overstated or so voluminous that it obscures the true strengths of one’s case. Limit yourself to what the court needs to know—what are you requesting, what is your theory and what are the factors under the law that support your theory, and what facts are most important that should be highlighted for the court. Be simple and straightforward.
What advice do you have for a new attorney?
It is so important for a new attorney to surround themselves with a good mentor. Mentors can not only help with day-to-day challenges, they will also help guide the long-term career of a new attorney. We have a wealth of experienced family law attorneys in the Michigan legal community who attend bar association functions, ICLE seminars, and are involved in family law Listservs. Be intentional about making a connection with a seasoned and reputable member of our bar to learn and grow.
Are there particular practice resources you think lawyers should consult?
A great starting point for attorneys is to look at the SCAO model orders for the given issues that the judge will need to decide. The orders have all of the elements that the lawyer needs to understand. In private practice, I found the ICLE Family Law resources and the SCAO form orders to be a helpful starting point in preparing for court.
What is something interesting you do off the bench?
It’s easy to spend 24/7 doing work, so having intentionality about work-life balance is important. I enjoy international adventure travel with family, in addition to spending time on the beautiful beaches on the western coast of Michigan and taking my two pugs on walks. I also enjoy sports and root for the Iowa Hawkeyes, Hope College, and New York Mets.
Is there anything else you would like Michigan lawyers to know?
If you have a family law case with me in Ottawa County, you need to check your notice for which courthouse you need to appear. Ottawa County has a new family law courthouse called the Family Justice Center, located at 12240 Filmore, Olive Township, MI, in the middle of the county. This new courthouse includes state of the art technology capabilities. I encourage anyone who plans on using technology in the courtroom to come a day or two before court to familiarize themselves with the capabilities and the tools we have available. Reach out to judges’ judicial assistants to make arrangements to test the technology. It is much better to spend 20 minutes understanding what the technology can and cannot do in advance, instead of fumbling with the technology during trial or a hearing.