News & Updates

As of July 1, 2015, Colorado has adopted new amendments to its rules of civil procedure with the goal of achieving a more accessible and efficient road to justice. The amended rules seek to increase the involvement of judges in pretrial activity, limit discovery to what is needed to prove a case, and increase a judge’s ability to award sanctions for noncompliance with the rules.

The Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies has issued a call for public comment on its Guidelines and Suggested Practices for Implementing the 2015 Discovery Amendments to Achieve Proportionality. The Guidelines have their genesis in the Duke Law…

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado has published new Guidelines Addressing the Discovery of Electronically Stored Information and a Checklist for Rule 26(f) Meet-and-Confer Regarding Electronically Stored Information. The guidelines and checklist were developed by a well-balanced committee following a survey of practitioners in the District.

Retired Magistrate Judge John Facciola was recently featured in an interview on Legal Talk Network’s Digital Detectives. He has been referred to as one of the “rock star judges of e-discovery,” having authored over 700 opinions, many of them on e…

The National Center for State Courts has released its final evaluation of Utah’s significant statewide changes to the rules governing disclosures and discovery, implemented in November 2011. The rule changes incorporate proportionality as a key principle governing the scope of discovery.

Early results from Minnesota’s Expedited Litigation Track (ELT) pilot program suggest a reduction in the delays generally caused by either the discovery process or the filing of continuances. The ELT provides a more expedited process for select civil cases (such as personal injury and consumer credit) in two counties in Minnesota, with the goals of a corresponding reduction in the cost of litigation and increased access to the courts.

The Colorado Supreme Court has adopted amendments to the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure, effective July 1 for cases filed on or after July 1. The amendments are substantial and incorporate the best of Colorado’s Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP), taking into account a final evaluation of that project and implementing the changes broadly for all civil cases across the state.

This month, IAALS will convene a group of plaintiffs’ attorneys from Colorado and around the country to discuss the present and future impact of civil justice reform in the United States. We look to others for input on how best to implement the upcoming changes and what culture shifts are necessary to achieve the intended positive impact, and have held a number of convenings this spring to gather input.

IAALS and the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice’s joint report, Reforming Our Civil Justice System: A Report on Progress & Promise, continues to garner attention at a national level. In its Civil Justice Playbook feature this month, Metropolitan Corporate Counsel features the work of theRule One Initiative and the Task Force.

On February 25-26, 2016, IAALS will hold its Fourth Civil Justice Reform Summit: Creating the Just, Speedy, and Inexpensive Courts of Tomorrow. The Summit will provide an opportunity to discuss the challenges of implementing change and chart the next steps for creating the just, speedy, and inexpensive courts of tomorrow.

On April 29, 2015, the United States Supreme Court adopted amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and submitted them to Congress. The long-awaited amendments, often described as a “package” of complementary amendments, focus on increasing cooperation, achieving proportionality in discovery, and encouraging early case management by judges.

The American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) has long been a leader in preserving and promoting the civil jury trial right provided by the Seventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This week ABOTA hosts a National Jury Summit in San Francisco…

The 640-page Agenda Book reflects the broad range of matters currently being tackled by the federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee, which met in Washington, D.C., on April 9. Issues include the proposed rule amendments currently before the Supreme…

In the fall of 2013, IAALS and the National Judicial College co-hosted an educational summit exclusively tailored for state court judges on all facets of the discovery of ESI—from preservation to production to eventual use at trial. In attendance…

The Texas Lawyer recently reported on Texas’ downward trend in civil lawsuits, which have dropped 17 percent over the last 10 years. The change in numbers presents many questions, with different perspectives as to the cause on all sides. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht has said that the state’s judiciary must delve further into the statistics to find answers.

The Colorado Supreme Court has requested comments on proposed amendments to the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. The changes are focused on improving access to the civil justice system by making pretrial case management more efficient, thereby decreasing cost and delay, without sacrificing justice. The proposals seek to take the best of Colorado’s Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP) and implement them broadly for all civil cases across the state.

A federal judge recently issued an order sharing her impatience with the ongoing discovery disputes of the parties. In addition to highlighting the cost and delay associated with such disputes, the court’s order also highlighted the possibilities for a different process to resolve such disputes. And, there is a clear movement across the country, at the state and federal level, toward these types of alternate processes for handling discovery motions.

The proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their potential impact continue to be on the forefront of discussions around the country. During a recent webinar, the Civil Rules Advisory Committee Chairman, Judge David Campbell, discussed the history of the amendments and the unprecedented number of public comments received during the rulemaking process. The discussion of the proposed amendments continued at Legal Tech New York, where a panel of judges spoke on their impact.

With the new year comes reflections on the past, and predictions for the future. This is equally true in the world of e-discovery, and there are many commentators around the country who are taking this opportunity to reflect on the highlights of 2014 and make predictions for 2015. As for our predictions? We know changing the way the civil justice system operates is a function of changing Rules, case flow management procedures, and culture.

Discovery in litigation can be complicated and expensive, and electronic discovery is no exception. The preservation and production of electronically stored information presents ample opportunities for complication and expense. To provide education for judges tackling these issues, IAALS and the National Judicial College will co-host a webcast on February 18, 2015, at no cost for state court judges.