Federal and state rules of civil procedure are intended to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.

However, one activity that can thwart that goal is discovery, because the discovery process is often the most lengthy and expensive stage of civil litigation. To ensure that discovery occurs in a speedy and inexpensive manner, judges increasingly need to exercise their case management authority to create the appropriate incentives for the parties and their counsel to cooperate and move the case along. In fact, one of the primary reasons for amending the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1983, 1993, 2000 and 2015 was to promote greater judicial involvement in the discovery process.