The Civil Trial: Adaptation and Alternatives

The Stanford Law Review's annual symposium will focus on the causes and consequences of the diminishing role civil trials play in the legal system today. Topics include: the dramatic decline in the number of federal civil trials over the past four decades; proposed changes 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. Keynote speaker: Kenneth Feinberg, former special master of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund.