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Management of Complex Civil Litigation

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Abstract

The increasing volume and complexity of civil litigation is placing a burden on court systems and juries. Civil trials are longer, and involve an increasing array of challenging legal and factual issues. Judges must often adopt a more active, managerial role, and attorneys must strike a balance between effective adversarial representation and cooperative handling of complex cases. The focus of this chapter is on the management of complex civil litigation. We start by tracing the history of the right to trial by jury, giving special attention to the complexity exception to this right. The legal debate surrounding the right to trial by jury in complex cases leads to a consideration of two important issues, each of which is addressed from both legal and social science perspectives.

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Wiggins, E.C., Breckler, S.J. (1992). Management of Complex Civil Litigation. In: Kagehiro, D.K., Laufer, W.S. (eds) Handbook of Psychology and Law. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4038-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4038-7_5

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