Rule 27(a): The Powerful, Overlooked, Octogenarian Pre-Litigation Discovery Rule Hidden in Plain Sight.

The article focuses on U.S. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 27(a) which use to preserve essential testimony that may be case-dispositive, yet otherwise lost to time. It mentions federal statutes continuously recognized a similar process tracing back to the first Judiciary Act adopted in 1789 and hypothetical conversations between potential deponents and their lawyer friends. It also mentions Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure have a counterpart applicable in criminal proceedings.