Introduction to the symposium.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Berry, Jennie
• Date: 01 April 2005

The 2005 Stanford Law Review Symposium, The Civil Trial: Adaptation and Alternatives, explores major changes in the civil litigation landscape and discusses long-term implications of these developments. Topics covered span the dramatic decline in the number of federal civil trials over the past four decades, proposed reforms to the trial system's treatment of class action litigation, and the increasing prominence of alternatives to civil trials, such as arbitration and privately administered trusts.

The live event accompanying the following articles occurred on February 4 and 5, 2005, and it gave rise to both critical evaluation of and constructive responses to these important trends in civil litigation. Participants included academics, judges, and practitioners who adopted a broad range of perspectives. The Symposium program and audio of the keynote address and panels are available on the Review's website, http://lawreview.stanford.edu.

The Symposium began on Friday, February 4, with a panel on the "Decline of the Federal Civil Trial." The panel was moderated by JoAnne Epps, from Temple University's Beasley School of Law, and the panelists included Marc Galanter of the University of Wisconsin School of...