Deadlines - Prosecuting or defending an adversary proceeding is complicated, and there are many important deadlines for filing a complaint, serving a Summons, responding to the complaint, completing discovery, filing pre-trial motions, and other activities in the lawsuit. These rules are found in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure 7000 series and Local Bankruptcy Rules. It is highly recommended that a party hire a bankruptcy attorney, and even when an attorney is involved, the actual party (plaintiff/defendant/other) should pay close attention to all activities in the lawsuit so that there is adequate time to prepare for deadlines and court dates (status conferences, hearings on motions, pre-trial conferences, trial). Complaints to determine dischargeability of debts and to deny a discharge must be filed very soon after the bankruptcy case is filed, and the deadline for filing such complaints is specified in the Notice of Chapter 7/11/13 Bankruptcy, Meeting of Creditors, Deadlines that the clerk's office mails to creditors right after a bankruptcy case is filed.

Special Procedures of Judges - Individual judges have special procedures related to adversary proceedings. These procedures may include the format for preparing and filing status conference reports and pre-trial stipulations, trial procedures, and treatment of witnesses and other evidence.