This program focuses on the future of discovery in civil litigation. Premised on a philosophy that parties ought to be able to obtain all relevant, nonprivileged information before trial, the discovery provisions in the original Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ushered in an era of broad discovery. By the 1980s, however, discovery had become a primary focus of litigation reform efforts. Since then, federal rulemakers have devoted recurrent attention to discovery reform. Many argue that additional discovery reform remains critical to reining in excessive burden, cost, and delay of civil litigation. Others assert that discovery does not impose excessive expense or delay in the broad run of cases; they criticize proposals to reduce the scope of discovery or to increase proportionality limits; and they question the impact of discovery changes on particular types of litigation as well as for the civil justice system as a whole. The current proposal to amend the federal discovery rules has deepened the debate and provides a partial backdrop to the panel’s discussion of discovery in civil litigation.
Business meeting at program conclusion.