Category: Trends & Emerging Issues

The wait is over.  Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are effective today.

The 2015 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are significant and will have a direct impact on the day to day practice of law, particularly discovery.  If you’ve been putting off your review of the amendments, the time for action is now!  Take a few minutes (or a few hours) to review these important amendments and/or attend one of K&L Gates’ two live events to learn more! (Live events are also available via webinar.)

CLICK HERE for an overview of the rules amendments package.

To register for K&L Gates’ complimentary CLE, “Federal Rule Changes Affect e-Discovery – Are You Ready This Time?” follow the links below:

• CLICK HERE to attend LIVE! in Seattle: Dec. 1, 2015, 1:30 PM -5:30 (with post-program reception)

• CLICK HERE to attend LIVE! in Pittsburgh: Dec. 3, 2015, 8:30 AM-12:15

• Can’t Attend in Person? Email Allison Peterson (allison.peterson@klgates.com) to attend via Webinar. Log-in instructions will be emailed to you.

An Overview of the Rules, History and Commentary

Absent congressional action to reject, modify or defer proposed amendments approved by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, amendments to rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 37, 55, and 84 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure will become effective on December 1, 2015.  Getting a head start on thinking about how your litigation (and pre-litigation) strategies or practices may be affected by these important amendments is highly recommended.

Click here to access the full article.

Today, April 29, 2015, Chief Justice John G. Roberts submitted the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which “have been adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States” to Congress for final approval.  Absent legislation to reject, modify or defer the rules, they will become effective December 1, 2015.

A copy of the Supreme Court’s submission to Congress is available here.

As reported by the National Law Journal (subscription required), the Judicial Conference has approved proposed changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.  No revisions to the proposals were reported.  The proposals will now go before the United States Supreme Court for review and, if approved, will take effect on December 1, 2015, absent any action by Congress to revise or reject the amendments.

The rules to be affected by the pending amendments include rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33 and 34 (collectively known as the “Duke Rules Package”). The proposed amendments also include an entirely rewritten Rule 37(e) addressing preservation and sanctions.

For more information regarding specific proposed changes (including the proposed text of the rules), read the Summary of the Report of the Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure, HERE.

Last week, the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (the “Standing Committee”) approved proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including the “Duke Rules Package,” addressing Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, and 34 and a rewritten version of Rule 37(e), addressing preservation.  The proposed amendments were approved with only two revisions to the proposed Committee Notes for Rules 26(b)(1) (encouraging consideration and use of technology) and 37(e) (clarifying the role of prejudice in subsection (e)(2) of the proposed rule).  Meeting minutes reflecting the precise changes to the Committee Notes are not yet available, although the text of the rules as adopted was published in the Standing Committee’s meeting Agenda Book, available here.

The next stop for the proposed amendments is the Judicial Conference, which will consider the proposed amendments at its meeting in September. 

As previously discussed on this blog, proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were recently approved by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules for submission to the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (the “Standing Committee”).  At the time of approval, the Committee Note for Proposed Rule 37(e) remained “under construction.”  The proposed note has now been drafted, however, and was published in the Agenda Book for the Standing Committee’s May meeting, to be held in Washington, D.C. on May 29-30.

A copy of the Agenda Book is available here.

The Preliminary Draft of Proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy and Civil Procedure is now published online for public comment.  The proposed amendments to the civil rules would affect rules 1, 4, 6, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 55, 84 and the Appendix of Forms.  Many of the proposed amendments are quite significant, particularly with regard to discovery, and our readers are therefore encouraged to review them carefully and share their thoughts with the Advisory Committee.

All written comments are due by February 15, 2014, and may be submitted electronically or by mail.  Members of the public may also present testimony on the proposed changes at any of three public hearings, scheduled for November 7th in Washington, D.C.; January 9th in Phoenix, AZ; and February 7th in Dallas, TX. 

To learn more about all of the proposed amendments and for instructions regarding how to submit your comments, click here.  For those interested only in the proposed amendments to the Rules of Civil Procedure, click here, to be taken directly to a discussion of those proposals.