2015 Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Champion Discovery Reform

The new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which became effective on December 1, 2015, encompass a number of significant changes to the Rules that are a direct reaction to the rising costs of civil discovery and the sharp decline of civil trials. In an effort to make litigation as efficient as possible, the amendments mark a distinct push toward emphasizing proportionality, increasing case management by the judiciary, increasing cooperation among the parties, and setting uniform guidelines for imposing sanctions when a party fails to preserve electronically-stored information.