The task force was assembled to analyze and explain amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b) that take effect on December 1, 2015, and to recommend useful practical, and concrete implementation procedures and practices that build on the amendments’ framework. Federal District Judge Lee Rosenthal and Professor Steven Gensler of the University of Oklahoma School of Law chaired the task force.

The project began with a conference on the new amendments with 15 federal judges on November 13-14, 2014, in Washington, D.C. The purpose was to provide guidance on what the amendments mean and how to apply them effectively. At its conclusion, 40 practitioners and judges were assigned to teams to review the proposals and provide input into the drafting of guidelines on implementing the new rule amendments. Eight of the practitioners assumed greater responsibility as team leaders, including John.

Following a series of conference calls, the team leaders met with Judge Rosenthal, Professor Steven Gensler, and John Rabiej of the Duke Center in Dallas on August 28, 2015. The Guidelines were completed in September 2015 and have since been published in Judicature and distributed to the federal judiciary.