Will A New “Proportionality Rule” Ease The E-Discovery Burden?

New Federal Rules of Civil Procedure now in the pipeline could alter e-discovery practice and make it less expensive and burdensome, as a new standard, “proportional to the needs of the case,” is likely to replace “reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.” How much difference the new wording will make, and to what extent a proportionality rule will bridle what the writer identifies as the all-too-common de facto practice of “you never know what you will find” remains to be seen.