As The National Law Journal recently reported, looming budget cuts in federal spending could portend disaster for federal courts. “Courts brace for cuts” [NLJ, 12-17-12]. Cuts in state court systems are in the headlines as well. Cuts in both staffing and hours of operation can mean further delays in an already overcrowded judicial system delays that will invariably cost litigants.
The United States is regarded as the most litigious country in the developed world, spending billions of dollars in the process, at a time when it can ill afford to lose any competitive edge in the global market.