In an article for The Atlantic, Deborah Copaken gives us an unvarnished account of what it is like to go through the divorce process without a lawyer and exposes the difficulties faced by many litigants who choose to represent themselves in divorce court.

Alan Carlson has been a pivotal part of IAALS over the last few years, leading us on strategic planning, helping us with projects, and connecting us to new board members. Alan is the epitome of a can-do person, and we are incredibly fortunate to have had him as part of our board.

As we move into the New Year, everyone at IAALS is excited to be taking on new projects, creating new relationships, and continuing the important work that moves us toward a more accessible and efficient justice system. To help us pursue that goal, we are welcoming Brooke Meyer to our team, who will serve as a manager, working across our state and federal civil-focused projects.

Today, IAALS announces the release of The Initial Discovery Protocols for First-Party Insurance Property Damage Cases Arising from Disasters Protocols, which provides a new pretrial procedure for cases involving first-party insurance property damage claims arising from man-made or natural disasters.

Done right, summary judgment expedites the just resolution of a case—that’s the whole reason we have Rule 56. Our challenge as judges and lawyers is to make dispositive motion practice advance that purpose. While lawyers have traditionally filed such motions if, when, and as often as they pleased, this is a recipe for excess or—worse—abuse. Dispositive motions work best when they are part of a plan for moving the case toward resolution.

Last month the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) launched a new website service to assist SRLs navigate complex court forms. The main site, a2j.org, hosts a series of “Guided Interviews” that walk SRLs through filling out various court forms using decision trees.

Today, IAALS announces the release of a new resource, Listen > Learn > Lead: A Guide to Improving Court Services through User-Centered Design, on how best to solicit feedback from self-represented litigants and other court stakeholders. The tools provided in this guide come from the knowledge IAALS gained through the Court Compass Project design sprint workshops.

This month, IAALS welcomes Lynnea Louison as our new Senior Director of Operations. We are so fortunate to have someone of her experience and caliber join our team, and we are excited for what the future holds. Welcome to the IAALS family, Lynnea!

Laura Storovich, a participant in our Colorado design sprint, shares her experience going through divorce as a self-represented litigant and her thoughts on our design sprint process.

In the past several years, design thinking has gained traction in the legal field as a method for involving litigants and other stakeholders in developing improvements to the legal system. IAALS has taken design thinking one step further in applying a structured qualitative research approach to the process.

Through its Court Compass Design Sprint Workshops, IAALS invited self-represented litigants to work alongside local judges, attorneys, and court administrators to improve the family law court process and access to justice. Litigants in Massachusetts, Iowa, North Carolina, and Colorado answered the call.

Our courts face a crisis of access. In a majority of family cases—divorce, separation, and custody issues—at least one party is self-represented. With upwards of 80 to 90 percent of cases involving a self-represented party, it is essential that self-represented litigants can navigate the process and know what to expect at key stages. Partnering with experts around the country, IAALS developed Court Compass as a way to engage court users in brainstorming ways to simplify the family court process.