changes to DISCOVERY RULES NOW IN EFFECT 

LCJ began advocating for amendments to the FRCP governing discovery in 2010.  LCJ produced a white paper arguing for a uniform preservation rule and for discovery to be proportional to the needs of the case.  LCJ then galvanized support for these reforms, producing multiple comments and witness testimony.  On December 1, 2015, that monumental effort came to fruition when the major amendments intended to improve the practice of discovery in civil litigation went into effect.   These changes were intended to reduce the costs and burdens associated with the epidemic of over-discovery while ensuring that all participants in the civil justice system have access to the information required to assert or defend against legal claims. 

In 2016, LCJ filed a comment, which may be viewed here, with the Civil Rules Committee regarding early interpretations of the amendments encouraging the education of judges on the new rules.  LCJ also is vigilantly monitoring case law interpretations, filing amicus briefs where appropriate to ensure the new rules are appropriately adopted by courts, and working with our defense bar partners to educate practitioners on the changes to discovery to ensure excessive and unnecessary discovery practice is curbed as intended.  

An easy to follow practitioner's guide may be found here:  www.newfrcp.com.

The below additional resources will also educate practitioners about the changes to discovery.  

​RECENT COMMENTS

RECENT ARTICLES

​Spoliation After Amended Rule 37(e)

BY THOMAS Y. ALLMAN
​Two Years In, New Discovery Rules Take Root

​By John J. Jablonski
​Case Summaries of Rule 37(e)
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BY THOMAS Y. ALLMAN
​Federal Discovery Rules:  What’s Changing and How Litigants Can Take Advantage Right Away

By Mathea K. E. Bulander, an Attorney with Redgrave LLP in the firm’s Minneapolis, Minnesota office, and Jason D. Moore, an Attorney in the firm’s Northern Virginia office.
​Applying the 2015 Civil Rules Amendments

BY THOMAS Y. ALLMAN
Chicken or Egg Problem: What Comes First:  ESI Protocol or FRCP 34 Responses?  
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​By Wendy Butler Curtis and Alison M. Kilmartin, Corporate Counsel
Proportionality Today
​

BY THOMAS Y. ALLMAN
Revised Guidelines and Practices for Implementing the 2015 Discovery Amendments to Achieve Proportionality
Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies
March 20, 2017

BACKGROUND MATERIALS

​​The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency for the federal courts.

discovery amendments

​During the annual DRI meeting, starring a LCJ panel of experts including LCJ General Counsel Alex Dahl, Bob Owen, Partner, Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan, Malini Moorthy, VP and Associate General Counsel, Bayer as well as Judge Paul W. Grimm, U.S. District Court (MD) and former Chair of the Discovery Subcommittee discuss the new discovery amendments.

SPECIAL REPORT Fixing Discovery: Are We There Yet?

New Rules, New Opportunities
by David G. Campbell

The Nuts and Bolts
A Roundtable Discussion
with Dean David F. Levi, Judge David G. Campbell, Judge John G. Koeltl, Chilton Varner, and Judge Derek P. Pullan

Rule 37(e): The New Law of Electronic Spoliation
by Gregory P. Joseph
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From Rule Text to Reality
by Lee H. Rosenthal and Steven S. Gensler

Guidelines and Practices for Implementing the 2015 Discovery Amendments 
published by the Duke Law Center for Judicial Studies

Click here for the entire edition.