Our system of civil dispute resolution is in crisis. Although not everyone concedes that there are too many lawsuits, there is consensus that once cases are filed, they take too long to be resolved and are too costly. There is also agreement among judges, lawyers and clients that, in civil cases, the root of the problem is discovery.
Discovery is riddled with abuse, delay and expense.
This has led to a torrent of reform proposals culminating in the recently amended Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In order to directly confront the most serious concerns about discovery, the new rules contain some of the most radical changes in discovery of the past fifty years. However, it is an understatement to say that the new rules have not been universally embraced. Few amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure have been as hotly debated or vehemently attacked. Even before the new rules went into effect, however, plaintiff and defense lawyers unanimously predicted that automatic disclosures would have a seriously negative impact on their practice.