It’s a big week for many in-house lawyers, outside attorneys and others concerned with litigation and e-discovery. Dec. 1 marks the first day that the first amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in almost a decade will be operational. Since the last FRCP amendments came out in 2006, a lot has changed. For instance, the amount of electronic data produced by parties has grown exponentially.
The amendments, which were developed by an advisory committee of the Judicial Conference of the U.S. and vetted by the U.S. Supreme Court, seek to update litigation processes, particularly in the area of e-discovery. Though it remains to be seen how the amended rules will function in practice, here are three of many possible ways they may influence the work of in-house counsel and their colleagues involved in litigation:
