Discovery' Eoin Dee (Thomson Round Hall, 2004)

• Author: Lawrence Donnelly
• Position: Lecturer in Clinical Legal Education, Faculty of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway. B.A., J.D. (USA). Attorney at Law
• Pages: 296-301

BOOK REVIEW

“DISCOVERY”

Eoin Dee

(Thomson Round Hall, 2004)

LAWRENCE DONNELLY*

The mere mention of the word discovery strikes fear into the

heart of any young lawyer in the United States. As a civil litigator,

and the junior lawyer of my law firm, I often found myself combing

through thousands of pages of mostly irrelevant medical records, or

in overheated warehouses reviewing boxes and boxes of documents,

or in courtrooms making sometimes foolhardy arguments to often

exasperated judges as to why certain material was or was not

discoverable. Wholly consistent with my experience of law practice

in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one commentator remarks:

“The American system of civil dispute resolution is in crisis.

Although the number of lawsuits may or may not be a problem, the

length and cost of resolving lawsuits undoubtedly is. Judges, lawyers

and clients agree that discovery is the root of the problem. Discovery

is riddled with abuse, delay and expense.”1This is the case despite

very liberal rules at both the state and federal levels that, in some

instances, mandate automatic disclosure.2The contentious nature of

what should be a cooperative process results from an unfortunate

culture which permeates the American legal profession – particularly

civil litigation – and deems litigation “war,” discovery “battle” and

perceives opposing counsel as “enemies” to be taken down at all

costs.3

In Ireland, fortunately, discovery has not reached this

intransigent state. A solicitor practising in the west of Ireland spoke

to me recently about his experience with the discovery process

representing both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation.4In his

296 [5:1Judicial Studies Institute Journal

*Lecturer in Clinical Legal Education, Faculty of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway.

B.A., J.D. (USA). Attorney at Law.

1Lasso, “Gladiators Be Gone: The New Disclosure Rules Compel a Re-Examination of the

Adversary Process,” 36 B.C. L. Rev. 479, 480-481 (1995).

2Lasso, “Gladiators Be Gone: The New Disclosure Rules Compel a Re-Examination of the

Adversary Process,” 36 B.C. L. Rev. at 480.

3Lasso, “Gladiators Be Gone: The New DisclosureRules Compel a Re-Examination of the

AdversaryProcess,” 36 B.C. L. Rev.at 504.

4Interview with John Murphy. Partner, Murphy Ballantyne Solicitors, Sligo.