News & Updates

The Sedona Conference® has updated its Resources for the Judiciary, a reference manual for judges that is “intended to assemble and promote a variety of proven judicial management tools to help parties develop and execute appropriate, cost-effective, cooperative discovery plans; avoid unnecessary discovery disputes; and resolve discovery disputes that may arise in a fair and expeditious manner.”

The Northern District of California unveiled a new set of guidelines on Tuesday for the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI). The guidelines were developed by a bench-bar committee chaired by Magistrate Judge Elizabeth D. LaPorte in partnership with the Rules Committee. In addition to the guidelines, the court has also adopted an ESI checklist for use during the Rule 26(f) meet and confer process and a model stipulated order.

A Metropolitan Corporate Counsel article this week asks "Are Courts Beginning to Take Proportionality Seriously in E-Discovery?" As this article points out, “the tide may be changing” with a "variety of recent developments [that] demonstrate that courts are relying on the principle of proportionality with increasing frequency and vigor when assessing the scope and limits of e-discovery."

The Texas Supreme Court has issued its long-awaited rules for expedited actions this week, making the process mandatory in cases of $100,000 or less. The rules are being adopted as a result of Texas legislation that called upon the Court to promulgate "rules to promote the prompt, efficient, and cost-effective resolution of civil actions."

In a promised follow-up to his prior blog post on IAALS’ Third Civil Justice Reform Summit, Professor Jordan Singer of New England Law│Boston discusses the new set of civil rules in Utah, which were implemented a year ago today.

IAALS alum and panelist at IAALS’ Third Civil Justice Reform Summit Professor Jordan Singer, of New England Law│Boston, recently shared his reactions to the Summit at PrawfsBlawg. In addition to putting the Summit into context and providing a summary of the different state and federal pilot projects around the country, Professor Singer also urges courts and researchers to share raw data on reform efforts.