Introduction to Secrecy in Litigation

The clash between privacy and public disclosure in dispute resolution demands the attention of legal academics, empiricists, and practitioners. Recent advances in technology have made information accessible in ways that were inconceivable a few years ago. Parties to disputes find their thoughts and interactions open to far greater disclosure than ever before. At the same time, the move toward alternative dispute resolution (ADR) has effectively taken many disputes out of the public realm and has transformed them into private transactions.

Whereas in the past the public could observe disputes resolved at trial, now many disputes are resolved behind the veil of ADR. Advances in technology and the move from courts to ADR have heightened the conflict between the right to privacy and the need for public disclosure. This symposium addresses the clash between privacy and public disclosure in dispute resolution from the perspectives of the public, the parties, the judge, and future litigants and examines various states' reforms as well as their unintended consequences.