The ever-increasing cost of civil litigation was once thought to be a unique trait of the United States civil justice system. However, the expense of civil litigation is on the rise across the globe, due in no small part to the time-consuming nature of obtaining evidence. This article provides an overview of disclosure and discovery in the United States, England, and the Netherlands, in an effort to provide practitioners with a comparative summary of the tools available to trial attorneys who practice in these three judicial systems. This article also provides a brief overview of 28 U.S.C. § 1782, which authorizes federal district courts in the United States to enter orders pertaining to discovery to be used in foreign or international proceedings.

Originally posted in the Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin - November 2016.