Saving the Civil Trial

Let me say, up front, my post this week is a shameless promotion for the civil litigation program I am co-chairing at the OBA Institute on Thursday morning, 6 February 2014.

Those of you interested in the future of the civil trial, put it in your diaries.

The speakers include Justice David Brown, Justice Mark Edwards, Marty Teplitsky and Tom Curry.

Much has been written in the last decade about the “vanishing trial” in Ontario, and other jurisdictions. The newest generation of Ontario civil litigators may retire without ever having conducted a civil trial to judgment. The most common explanation given for this is cost, although civil litigation under the now dominant ADR method does not appear to be appreciably less expensive.

Is the civil trial dead, or just dying? Can it be rescued? How? Is it worth the effort?

The theme of the 2014 OBA Civil Litigation Program is that the civil trial remains a valuable and viable method of dispute resolution in the 21st Century, when conducted in an effective and cost-efficient manner.

Hear from leading litigators on how to streamline your case and use the rules to get it to trial faster. Here is the Program.