High Volume Civil Adjudication
Principles of the Law, High Volume Civil Adjudication addresses a serious challenge facing state courts: the adjudication of high-volume, high-stakes, low-dollar-value civil claims. These types of claims, which arise in such areas as debt collection, evictions, home foreclosure, and child support, comprise a significant proportion of state court cases. These types of cases raise unique issues as they are frequently uncontested, resulting in high numbers of default judgments, and typically feature at least one party without a lawyer.
From the press release announcing the project:
“State court dockets have become dominated by cases that, though smaller-scale and arguably less complex than other types of civil litigation, are decidedly high-stakes for many of the litigants. These cases are shaping the lives of millions of Americans, particularly women and people of color,” explained Engstrom. “The future of the civil justice system, and the legitimacy of the courts at its center, will turn on how—and how well—judges, court administrators, and an array of other policymakers respond to these new realities.”
Engstrom continued: “The project will define the issues raised by these claims and attend to the fundamental, and often competing, process values of efficiency, accuracy, and fairness that are implicated in their adjudication. It will articulate principles for procedure and case management, court administration, the use of technology, the supply of and demand for legal help, institutional design, and dispute prevention to help courts and policymakers chart a wise path forward.”
Reporters
David Freeman Engstrom
Reporter, High Volume Civil Adjudication
David Freeman Engstrom is the LSVF Professor in Law and Co-Director of the Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford Law, the premier academic center working to shape the future of legal services and access to the legal system. A far-ranging scholar of the design and implementation of litigation and regulatory regimes, Engstrom’s expertise runs to civil procedure, administrative law, constitutional law, law and technology, and empirical legal studies.
Rebecca Aviel
Associate Reporter, High Volume Civil Adjudication
Rebecca Aviel is a professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She practiced in the litigation department of Morrison & Foerster in San Francisco and clerked for Judge Barry Silverman of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She also spent two years as a staff attorney for the Ninth Circuit. Professor Aviel’s research and teaching interests include legal ethics and professional responsibility, family law, and constitutional law, with a scholarly focus on the opportunities for insight where these fields intersect.
David Marcus
Associate Reporter, High Volume Civil Adjudication
David Marcus is Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. His research focuses on civil procedure, access to justice, federal courts, complex litigation, and legal history. Marcus served as vice dean for curricular and academic affairs at UCLA from 2021 to 2023.
Emily S. Taylor Poppe
Associate Reporter, High Volume Civil Adjudication
Emily S. Taylor Poppe is an interdisciplinary empirical scholar whose research is focused on inequalities in access to civil justice. Her work investigates the origins of civil legal problems and their paths toward resolution, as well as the role of legal actors and institutions in shaping these processes. She has investigated variation in both formal and informal access to legal counsel and has also assessed the effect of legal representation on case outcomes.
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The ALI Adviser is intended to inform readers about the legal topics and issues examined in many of ALI’s current projects; posts do not necessarily represent the position of the Institute taken in those projects. Posts on The ALI Adviser are written by ALI project participants, ALI members, and outside sources. Completed work is available to purchase online.
