• Image of Maddie Hosack
    Maddie Hosack
June 16, 2021
This month, IAALS and its partners kicked off the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring how judicial leadership can play a critical role in expanding access to legal services and access to justice. The panelists discussed the status of regulatory innovation, how courts and others are seeking to address the problems, and why state supreme courts and the organized bar must start forging solutions now.
  • Image of Maddie Hosack
    Maddie Hosack
June 10, 2021
In May, the National Center for Access to Justice published the latest iteration of the Justice Index, a national survey of state civil justice policies. Based on an examination of policies across four civil justice areas—attorney access, support for self-represented litigants, language access, and disability access—the index assigns a score to each state.
  • Image of Jordan M. Singer
    Jordan M. Singer
June 8, 2021
In a recent national survey asking about the importance of 12 characteristics of judges, survey respondents indicated that the public prizes a judge's professional qualities above all others, including political qualities—preferences that have obvious relevance for methods of judicial selection.
  • Image of Logan Cornett
    Logan Cornett
June 1, 2021
In October 2020, IAALS published its groundbreaking report on the 12 building blocks of minimum competence to be a lawyer, our 5 insights for assessment, and our 10 recommendations for better legal licensing—with the goal of improving the bar exam and the overall licensing process. Here, we cover the first three building blocks of minimum competence.
  • Image of Brittany Kauffman
    Brittany Kauffman
May 28, 2021
Throughout the past year, our courts have been engaged in informal pilot projects—they’ve tried out different technologies and processes, all in an effort to continue the administration of justice amid the pandemic. Now, we have the opportunity to learn from this experience and chart a path forward long term.
  • Image of Brooke Meyer
    Brooke Meyer
May 24, 2021
In May 2021, amendments to the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect, several of which provide better notice of parties’ rights and obligations at the outset and throughout a lawsuit. The rule amendments are also paired with forms that include notice of rights in plain language and in multiple languages.
  • Image of Brittany Kauffman
    Brittany Kauffman
May 14, 2021
Following a new law giving the state's governor the sole power to fill mid-term judicial vacancies, former Montana Supreme Court Justice James C. Nelson calls for the implementation of a merit-based judicial selection process to keep Montana’s courts free from partisanship and outside influence.
  • Image of Maddie Hosack
    Maddie Hosack
May 3, 2021
In March, IAALS wrapped up our Pandemic Positives Speaker Series, bringing together a number of courts and legal service providers who, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly implemented new processes for providing both in-person and virtual services to ensure access to information and assistance.
  • Sam Walker photo
    Sam Walker
April 29, 2021
Over the past year, we have processed three wrenching national experiences. At IAALS, we have imagined the experiences as tests. Because we aspire to advance the American legal system, we have sought to answer these tests together—and for the sake of our shared mission.
  • Image of Jack Zouhary
    Jack Zouhary
April 27, 2021
Civil jury trials have been few since the pandemic began. Cases stalled and slowed, phone conferences and Zoom replaced in-person hearings, and deadlines were extended. How did courts handle the tension between civil rules and procedure on the one hand, and the fundamental right to a jury trial on the other? And, what will stick?
  • Image of Maddie Hosack
    Maddie Hosack
April 19, 2021
The Chicago Bar Foundation has put together a new toolkit for Illinois attorneys who would like to offer unbundled legal services to potential clients with civil matters in trial court. The toolkit helps attorneys to determine whether or not a litigant is a good candidate for bundling, provides attorneys with talking points, and contains other practical materials.
  • Image of Kelsey Montague
    Kelsey Montague
April 15, 2021
IAALS announced that it is awarding Anna E. Carpenter, Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Programs at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, the inaugural Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award.