There is no single rule that tells you how long an attorney has to respond to another attorney. The answer depends on what the communication is. Formal filings and discovery requests carry hard deadlines under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, usually 21 or 30 days. Everything else, from a phone call to an email proposing a deposition date, falls under the professional obligation of reasonable promptness. Miss a rule-based deadline and the court can impose sanctions; drag your feet on the informal stuff and you invite bar complaints, malpractice exposure, and a reputation that follows you.
The Deadlines Set by Federal Court Rules
When one attorney serves another with a document that triggers a procedural clock, the clock is set by rule, not by courtesy. A defendant generally has 21 days after service to answer a complaint, extending to 60 days when the United States is a party. A party served with a request for document production under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34 must respond in writing within 30 days, though the parties can agree to a different timeline or the court can order one.1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 34 – Producing Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Tangible Things, or Entering onto Land, for Inspection and Other Purposes Summary judgment motions under Rule 56 may be filed at any time up to 30 days after the close of discovery, though local rules and scheduling orders often set tighter windows for both filing and responding.2Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 56 – Summary Judgment
When you count these deadlines, every calendar day counts, weekends and holidays included. The one grace: if the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day. State courts set their own timelines, and local federal rules often shorten the defaults, so the applicable scheduling order is always the last word.
Attorneys routinely extend these deadlines by written agreement. A quick email confirming a two-week extension on a discovery response is standard practice, and courts expect counsel to accommodate reasonable requests where doing so won’t disrupt the schedule. What the rules do not allow is silent non-response. If you need more time, ask for it before the clock runs.
What “Reasonable” Means for Everything Else
Most attorney-to-attorney communication isn’t governed by a numbered rule. A letter proposing settlement, an email asking for available deposition dates, a voicemail about a scheduling conflict — none of these come with a court-imposed deadline. They are governed by the professional standard of promptness that runs through the Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
Model Rule 1.3 requires “reasonable diligence and promptness” in representing clients, and the official comment states that “perhaps no professional shortcoming is more widely resented than procrastination.”3American Bar Association. Rule 1.3 Diligence – Comment Rule 1.4 spells out the communication obligations that flow from that duty.4American Bar Association. Rule 1.4 Communications While Rule 1.4 speaks directly to client communications, the diligence obligation covers the whole matter, and slow responses to opposing counsel harm the client’s case just as surely as slow responses to the client.
What is “reasonable” varies with context. A one-line question about a filing date deserves a same-day or next-day reply. A detailed settlement proposal covering multiple issues may reasonably take a week. Complex multi-party litigation, disputes across jurisdictions, and matters requiring document review genuinely justify a longer turnaround. The line to watch is between taking time to respond thoughtfully and not responding at all. Opposing counsel will accept the first if you communicate about it.
Workload is not a defense. The comment to Rule 1.3 states that “a lawyer’s work load must be controlled so that each matter can be handled competently.”3American Bar Association. Rule 1.3 Diligence – Comment Taking on more than you can manage is itself an ethical problem, not an excuse for missed responses.
What Happens When an Attorney Misses the Response Window
Court Sanctions
When a party ignores a discovery obligation, Rule 37 gives the court a broad menu of sanctions. The court can treat disputed facts as established against the non-responding party, bar that party from presenting evidence or raising defenses, strike pleadings, stay the case, enter a default judgment, or dismiss the case outright. On top of those sanctions, the court must generally order the non-complying party or their attorney to pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the failure.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery
Rule 26 disclosure failures carry a specific penalty: a party who fails to disclose required information or identify a witness can be barred from using that evidence at a hearing, on a motion, or at trial. The court can also inform the jury about the failure.
Bar Discipline
The ABA identifies neglect and lack of communication as the top two sources of disciplinary complaints, and notes that the two frequently overlap.6American Bar Association. Protect Yourself From Common Disciplinary Complaints A lawyer who doesn’t return opposing counsel’s calls is often the same lawyer who doesn’t return the client’s. Depending on the pattern and the harm caused, discipline can range from a private reprimand to suspension or disbarment.
Malpractice Exposure
A malpractice claim requires an attorney-client relationship, a breach of the duty of care, and damages directly caused by the breach. Causation is the hurdle. Slow responses that produce no concrete harm don’t support a claim. But when the delay costs something measurable, the exposure is real: failing to relay a settlement offer before it expires, missing a filing deadline because of poor coordination with opposing counsel, or letting a statute of limitations run all produce the kind of loss that supports a malpractice case.
How to Protect Yourself If Opposing Counsel Isn’t Responding
If the attorney on the other side has gone silent on a matter with a deadline attached, the record you build now is what a judge will look at later. Put your request in writing. Follow up in writing. If a rule-based deadline is at stake, note the deadline in your follow-up and ask whether they intend to seek an extension. If discovery is the issue, Rule 37 requires a good-faith attempt to obtain the response before you move to compel, and your emails documenting that effort are the evidence you’ll need.
For informal communications with no fixed deadline, a courteous nudge is usually enough. Attorneys miss things. A short second email, sent a few business days after the first, resolves most delays without escalation. If the pattern continues and it’s harming your client, the options move up the ladder: a letter noting the impact on your client’s matter, a motion where court intervention is available, and in serious cases a bar complaint.
Staying On the Right Side of the Clock
The habits that prevent missed responses are unglamorous and effective. Calendar every rule-based deadline the moment it’s triggered, with a reminder that fires well before the actual date. Use a practice management system that centralizes task tracking rather than scattered email threads.
Acknowledge before you answer. When opposing counsel sends something that requires real analysis, a two-line reply confirming receipt and giving a realistic turnaround date takes 30 seconds and buys you the time you need without appearing to ignore the message. That single habit prevents more disputes than any software.
Plan for absence. The comment to Rule 1.3 goes so far as to suggest that sole practitioners designate another competent lawyer to review files and notify clients in the event of death or disability.3American Bar Association. Rule 1.3 Diligence – Comment Coverage for a vacation or a trial week is a smaller version of the same discipline: someone else needs to be able to see the deadlines and respond to opposing counsel while you’re unavailable.
When a matter is quiet and there’s genuinely nothing new to say, say that. A one-sentence note confirming you’re waiting on a document or reviewing a proposal keeps the exchange moving and makes clear that you haven’t disappeared. Responsiveness, in the end, is less about speed than about signal. Opposing counsel needs to know they’ve been heard. Give them that, and the deadlines take care of themselves.