The American Civil Justice System: From Recommendations to Reform in the 21st Century

There is national momentum around reducing the costs and delays associated with civil litigation, in order to continue to provide and protect access to the courts and in hopes of ensuring the viability of trials. Although these themes have resonated throughout the history of the civil litigation system, recent efforts have demonstrated a renewed and serious commitment by judges and attorneys around the country to developing updated procedures designed to serve these two interrelated goals. From initial efforts to identify and define the problems that plague the system, to efforts to develop and implement solutions, the past six years have seen a surge in attention to these issues. With pilot projects underway across the country implementing and testing solutions, we have moved from recommendations to reform. Although the pilot projects are diverse in their solutions, there are common themes across the state and federal projects. These themes provide insight into broad changes that are on the horizon for the American civil justice system.