The conference, which will take place at Duke University School of Law May 10 and 11, brings together key federal judges, lawyers, and academics to discuss the need to reform civil rules and practices on issues ranging from electronic discovery to the use of experts. The impact of recent Supreme Court decisions in Ashcroft v. Iqbal and Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, raising requirements for what must be included in initial pleadings in civil cases, is another major focus of the two-day conference. The main sponsor is the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on Civil Rules.
The meeting responds to recent surveys indicating that those involved in civil litigation see “significant problems of cost and delay,” said Judge John Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the conference organizer. Even before it opens, the conference is being compared to the historic Roscoe Pound Conference of 1976, held in St. Paul, Minn. to discuss civil justice problems, which launched several reforms. “This conference hopes to build on the legacy” of that meeting “and all it contributed to the reform of the administration and delivery of justice in the federal system,” said Judge Mark Kravitz of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Kravitz chairs the civil rules advisory committee.
