Defense Bar Calls For Changes To The Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure Meaningful Amendments Needed To Improve The Administration Of Justice

Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ), DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar, the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel (FDCC), and the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC), recently announced strong support for a fundamental review of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) now underway by the Federal Judicial Conference Rules Committee.

A Defense Bar white paper, Reshaping the Rules of Civil Procedure for the 21st Century , was submitted to the recent 2010 Conference on Civil Litigation at Duke Law School. The white paper, subtitled "The Need for Clear, Concise, and Meaningful Amendments to Key Rules of Civil Procedure," represents the consensus of the defense bar on major problems facing the federal courts now and in the future. It encourages the Rules Committee, sponsor of the conference, to move forward with meaningful amendments to the Rules to help solve those problems.

The submission of the white paper represents one in a series of significant steps by the organized defense bar, the business community and nationally recognized academics to encourage judicial policymakers to support major rule revisions. From a historical perspective, the initiative comes at a unique time - a time we have characterized as a "once in a lifetime opportunity" - because current circumstances compel us to rethink the underpinnings of our litigation landscape.

First, the initiative builds upon the findings of the joint project of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver (IAALS) that, "although the civil justice system is not broken, it is in serious need of repair."

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Source: Metropolitan Corporate Counsel