Recently published proposed federal rules aim to reduce the time and costs of e-discovery, but experts disagree on their likely impact. The opinions range from predicting the amendments will have minimal effect to calling them the most significant changes to the discovery process since the 1993 amendments requiring initial disclosures. On April 12, the Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure recommended several rule changes aimed at reducing the burden of e-discovery. In early June, the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure approved the rule changes for publication and public comment.
“In large-scale litigation, the savings in costs and time could be significant,” says Robert Ambrogi, attorney and adviser to e-discovery technology vendor Catalyst. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Milberg Senior Counsel Henry Kelston says, “The proposed amendments will do little to reduce the cost of discovery and may well have the opposite effect.”
