Later this month, the great and the good of the litigation world will attend a symposium on how to tackle the length of trials in civil claims. The event was prompted in part by concern over the likes of the BCCI/Bank of England case, where the opening statements broke new records.

Perhaps the judges, QCs and senior litigation partners at top City law firms attending the symposium should consider adopting the approach taken by Judge T John Ward of the Federal Court in Marshall, Texas.


With a population of a mere 25,000, Marshall has the unusual position of being a hotbed of patent lawsuits, with more filed there than in San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington. Only Los Angeles handles more infringement cases.


Apart from having juries that are friendly to plaintiffs, Marshall's attraction apparently is that the trials are quick. According to the New York Times, Judge Ward uses a chess clock to time opening and closing arguments, 'interrupting lawyers when it is time for them to wind it up'.


Is it time to change the Civil Procedure Rules?