Richard E. Best Email & Phone Number

While working in the San Francisco Superior Court for 29 years I decided numerous, diverse, and esoteric civil discovery, privilege, and constitutional issues. I presided over more such motions in a month than most lawyers or judges handle in a lifetime: from two party disputes to multi-party, multi-jurisdictional, complex cases; from collection to antitrust cases; from landlord-tenant to trade secrets; from employment law to securities fraud. As a private discovery referee appointed by various courts, I have more time to devote to individual cases and the ability to make myself available on short notice and on weekends and evenings. Every case and discovery dispute requires and deserves the individual attention required to properly apply the generic rules to the specific needs of the case and parties. The benefits of a discovery referee should far exceed the costs and should be an efficient, expeditious and cost effective adjunct to the judicial system. To facilitate the process, I make myself directly and readily available to counsel by e-mail and telephone and generally conduct conferences and hearings by telephone. While lawyers, parties and judges often have general complaints regarding discovery and often feel the solution is a new rule, I have found that the rules provide immense flexibility and will work properly if the players use the various tools properly.Specialties: I have written and spoken extensively on civil discovery and e-discovery. For over 20 years I have maintained a web page devoted to civil discovery. I have been active in the legislative and rule making process. In 1999 I presented programs on e-discovery throughout California. Shortly thereafter, while chair of the discovery subcommittee of an advisory committee to the Judicial Council, I organized a statewide committee of lawyers and experts to consider e-discovery rules.

Listed skills include Litigation, Civil Litigation, Courts, Litigation Support, and 21 others.

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  Columbia University School Of Law