The consensus among trial lawyers is that fewer and fewer civil cases are going to trial these days. Lawyers that started their careers 3 or 4 decades ago speak of the days when cases were being tried all the time. A comparison of statistics for the Nashville Metro area serves as evidence of the decline in the number of trials. For years Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk Richard Rooker has been publishing a summary of the number of cases that go to trial in the Rooker Report. In 2000, 266 civil cases went to trial. By comparison, in 2007 only a total of 140 cases were tried. The reasons for the decline in trials are many. The introduction of the discovery rules ultimately led to an increase in the cost of taking cases to trial, Moreover, fifteen years ago mediation was relatively rare. Now it is commonplace and there is certainly a push by the courts toward mediation. In fact, some judges are reluctant to set a case for trial unless it has already been mediated. Arbitration is also more commonplace. Conservative jury verdicts are also a disincentive for plaintiffs' lawyers to allow jurors to price their cases. Insurors also see mediation as a means to resolve claims without the uncertainly and expense of a trial. While mediation is a great tool for resolving disputes, the decrease in the number of cases being tried makes it hard for young lawyers to earn their sea legs.
The truth is, nobody decides to become a litigator because they always dreamed of going to mediation!
