Section Newsletters

Articles on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Complying with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 34(b): Best practices By Peter LaSorsa Federal Civil Practice, December 2009 Rule 34 (b)(2)(E)(i) provides that a party must either produce documents “as they are kept in the usual course of business” or it “must organize and label them to correspond to the categories in the request.” 
A new Rule 26 may change the way we communicate (or don’t) with experts By Camille M. Knight Federal Civil Practice, March 2009 The Judicial Conference Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure has published proposed amendments to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which, if approved, will take effect in 2010. 
New proposed amendments to Rules 26 and 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure By William J. Brinkmann Federal Civil Practice, December 2008 A preliminary draft of proposed Amendments to the Federal Rules of Practice and Procedure has been submitted for public comment by the Administrative Office of the US Courts. Comments are due by Feb. 17, 2009.
Affirmative defenses in federal court: What every practitioner should know By Patrick T. Driscoll, Jr. & Patricia M. Fallon Federal Civil Practice, June 2008 Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) governs the assertion of affirmative defenses in civil cases filed in federal court and is defined:
RULE 56.1: Requirements and pitfalls By Mary Nagel & Kathryn A. Kelly Federal Civil Practice, March 2008 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 governs motions for summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.
E-discovery now, not later—New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure By Michael J. Hanson Civil Practice and Procedure, February 2007 When the new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect December 1, 2006, life got tougher for some attorneys who scrupulously avoid dealing with electronic data issues. A not uncommon approach has been to defer dealing with issues related to the discovery of electronically stored information (ESI) until later in the case, hoping that later will become never.
Top 10 things all corporate counsel should know about the amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure By Sonya D. Naar & R. Matthew Hiller Corporate Law Departments, October 2006 On December 1, 2006, significant amendments will occur to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”) concerning electronically stored information (“ESI”) and how issues concerning discovery of ESI are to be handled by parties to federal litigation.
Amendments to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to address electronic discovery By Michael D. Gifford Labor and Employment Law, July 2006 On April 12, 2006, the United States Supreme Court approved and forwarded to Congress certain revisions to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure addressing preservation and discovery of data in electronic media, sometimes known as e-discovery.
Rule 50 motions: Effective and proper use of motions for judgment as a matter of law By Travis J. Ketterman Federal Civil Practice, June 2006 Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets forth the procedural and substantive requirements for seeking a judgment as a matter of law in a jury trial.
Rule 68: Offer of judgment By Patricia M. Fallon Federal Civil Practice, March 2006 Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure encourages parties to settle out of court by providing a party defending against a claim the opportunity to make a special offer of judgment at any time more than 10 days before the trial begins.
Things to bear in mind when moving to dismiss under Rule 12(b) By Judge James F. Holderman Federal Civil Practice, March 2006 A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) can be an effective way for an attorney defending a party in a federal civil case to curtail the litigation against his or her client. Any attorney contemplating filing such a motion, however, should bear several things in mind.
Effectively using Rule 36 in summary judgment motions By Travis J. Ketterman Federal Civil Practice, December 2005 This article explores using Rule 36 Requests for Admissions as both a sword and shield in the crucial juncture of summary judgment motions.
Proposed electronic discovery amendments to the Federal Rules—If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it By David J. Fish Federal Civil Practice, September 2005 The rules should be left alone. The current rules adequately address documents/data in all forms—including electronic. As technology develops, so will case law. But, creating a one size fits all approach to electronic discovery is dangerous.
Response By William J. Brinkmann Federal Civil Practice, September 2005 The current rules are, indeed, broke and need fixing.
Avoid being blindsided by Federal Rule Civil Practice 30(a)(2)(B) By Jack A. Strellis Federal Civil Practice, May 2005 Most lawyers are well aware that all depositions taken pursuant to Federal Rules are evidentiary in nature, yet many allow the opposing party to take the federal depositions of their client's treating or tendered medical professionals, economists, engineers and etc., as if the deposition is being taken for discovery purposes only.
Discovery disclosure: State Rules 222 and 218 By William J. Borah Civil Practice and Procedure, April 2001 A look at the automatic discovery disclosures required by Rule 26 and related rules.
New Rule 23(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure makes class action certifications immediately appealable By Michael Todd Scott Corporate Law Departments, August 1999 In June of 1997, the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure approved a recommendation from its Advisory Committee on Civil Rules to amend Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to add section 23(f) which authorized the interlocutory appeal of class action certification rulings. 

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