When contemplating suicide, Shakespeare's Hamlet bemoans "the law's delays." It's a perennial scourge.

In the past 20 years, I've represented plaintiffs in federal courts across the country—in small cases and in large class actions. Regardless of judges' preappointment political leanings or geographic location, they are well-meaning and fair. But for ordinary folks, the civil-litigation process in federal courts is broken. It unduly favors corporate defendants. It needs reform. The problems are many, but delay is the big one.