The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Surveying Recent Amendments and What's to Come

Significant amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure took effect in 2015. While they were dismissed by some, Chief Justice Roberts notably observed in his 2015 year-end report on the federal court system that "[t]he amendments may not look like a big deal at first glance, but they are."  

In this program, attorneys Jennifer H. Rearden, Gabriel Herrmann, and Justine Goeke of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP summarize the key components and effects of the 2015 rule amendments, and survey the case law that has developed since their enactment to assess whether Chief Justice Roberts' observation has been confirmed in practice by the lower courts. They also briefly summarize the further rule amendments that have been enacted since 2015, as well as a pending rule change for Rule 30 that may be approved next year.

Learning Objectives:

1. Summarize the post-2015 amendments and consider their practical implications
2. Review the courts' efforts to curb the use of boilerplate objections to Rule 34 requests for documents
3. Identify trends in the implementation of Rule 37's provisions governing preservation of electronically stored information
4. Discuss the real-world effect of the 2015 proportionality amendments
5. Examine the pending rule change for Rule 30