Managing Toward the Goals of Rule 1

Federal Courts Law Review, 2009

14 Pages Posted: 7 Aug 2009

See all articles by Rebecca Love Kourlis

Rebecca Love Kourlis

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Jordan M. Singer

New England Law | Boston

Date Written: August 3, 2009

Abstract

Two new studies may help federal judges better achieve Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 1’s objectives of a “just, speedy, and inexpensive” resolution of civil cases. The first study stems from an examination of the dockets of nearly 8000 closed federal civil cases, with the goal of identifying the areas of pretrial activity that are most closely associated with faster or slower times to disposition. The second study is a survey of nearly 1500 Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, seeking their perceptions of and experience with the pretrial process. Collectively, these studies provide valuable insight into strategies that district and magistrate judges can employ in order to steer civil cases to a fair and efficient resolution. In this article, we summarize the key findings of both studies and offer a few salient recommendations based on those findings.

Keywords: civil procedure, judicial management, case management, pretrial procedure, summary judgment, discovery, empirical studies, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, legal culture, scheduling conferences

JEL Classification: K41, K40

Suggested Citation

Kourlis, Rebecca Love and Singer, Jordan M., Managing Toward the Goals of Rule 1 (August 3, 2009). Federal Courts Law Review, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1443432

Rebecca Love Kourlis

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Jordan M. Singer (Contact Author)

New England Law | Boston ( email )

154 Stuart St.
Boston, MA 02116
United States
(617) 368-1434 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.nesl.edu

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