The United States is unique in its scope of broad litigation discovery, including the use of interrogatories, depositions, and discovery from non-parties. It is also unique in that the parties have the right to initiate extensive discovery without court intervention. The broadness of U.S. discovery is exemplified by the language in Rule 26(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which provides that, unless otherwise restricted by the court, the parties “may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case. . . . Information within this scope of discovery need not be admissible in evidence to be discoverable.” Further, discovery takes up a substantial portion of the case schedule and costs. Disputes over discovery can further drive up time and costs and have the potential to detract from the substantive issues in the case.
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Read "Cross-Border Discovery Disparities: Bridging Legal Systems," co-authored by Boston Litigation Shareholder Mian R. Wang, Miami International Arbitration Of Counsel Aurore Nicaud, FCIArb, and Tokyo Litigation of Counsel Mitsuru Tadatsu for the American Bar Association's Litigation Section. (subscription)