Civil Procedure
Jun. 18, 2026
Can we end discovery abuse? A Kotter-inspired blueprint for reform
A proposed overhaul of California discovery practice applies John P. Kotter's change-management framework to create a faster, more transparent, and committee-guided system for resolving routine discovery disputes.
Mel Red Recana
Retired Independent Calendar Judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court; received his MPA from Harvard after successfully working for the passage of the Judges Sabbatical Leave Law, and a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management
Discovery abuse has become one of the most persistent sources of delay, cost and frustration in civil litigation.
What began as a mechanism to ensure fairness in fact-finding has, in too many cases, evolved into a strategic weapon--overbroad requests, boilerplate objections and motion practice that often eclipses the merits of the dispute itself.
The question is not whether discovery reform is needed. The question is whether we are...
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