Cooperativism in the American Adversarial Tradition

40 Civil Justice Quarterly 283 (2021)

UC Hastings Research Paper Forthcoming

16 Pages Posted: 7 Jun 2021 Last revised: 14 Mar 2023

Date Written: May 29, 2021

Abstract

American civil litigation is adversarial — both in the sense of fitting within the adversarial tradition of party-driven litigation followed in most common-law countries, and in the sense of being aggressively combative. Yet within U.S. civil litigation is an undercurrent of cooperativism. This article uncovers cooperativism in the procedural rules and common party practice, and it situates cooperativism within both adversarialism and judicial managerialism. The article argues that cooperativism is a story in its own right, one that should not be overlooked.

Keywords: cooperativism, cooperate, cooperation, adversarialism, adversarial litigation, managerialism, discovery

Suggested Citation

Dodson, Scott, Cooperativism in the American Adversarial Tradition (May 29, 2021). 40 Civil Justice Quarterly 283 (2021), UC Hastings Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3856269 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3856269

Scott Dodson (Contact Author)

UC Law, San Francisco ( email )

200 McAllister Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States
415-581-8959 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.uchastings.edu/faculty/dodson/index.php

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
113
Abstract Views
736
Rank
438,854
PlumX Metrics