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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Litigation statistics and caseload
2:49:11
ยท
77 sec
The Law Department handles a large volume of cases annually, with recent increases in certain areas and ongoing efforts to address case backlogs.
- The department represents the city and its employees in over 70,000 cases annually.
- There has been an increase in pending cases, particularly in the Tort division, which now has more than 31,000 pending cases.
- Efforts to efficiently address case backlog include the use of a universal legal search tool.
- The department is working on rebuilding following a period of high attrition.
Muriel Goode-Trufant
2:49:11
The law department represents the city and its employees in litigation in more than 70,000 cases annually.
2:49:21
We have experienced an increase in pending cases, particularly in our largest division, Tort, where there are now more than 31,000 pending cases, including a large number of adult survivor act and child victims act cases.
2:49:40
The tort caseload remained steady this year due to our ongoing efforts to efficiently address case backlog.
2:49:50
For example, the universal legal search tool discussed last year continues to help significantly reduce the backlog of discovery motions, including motions to strike the city's answer in cases in which the city otherwise has a meritorious defense.
2:50:08
Additionally, within this fiscal year, we have made advances in rebuilding following the unprecedented level of attrition we have talked about in past years.
2:50:21
Nonetheless, growth of new and challenging cases remain a concern as our mitigation efforts continue.