News & Updates

The New York Times is running a series of articles on consumer-business arbitration. The writers observe that arbitration takes away transparency, due process, the right of appeal, and assurance of an impartial decision maker—all of the attributes of a court system. In exchange, it offers a speedier, cheaper process.

Those who attended the 4th Annual Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Conference were among the first to learn about initial results from our national Foundations for Practice study. We will be sharing detailed results over the next several months, but here is a glimpse of what we already know.

In response to record-breaking judicial election spending, and an unprecedented series of scandals involving supreme court justices, reform-minded folks in Pennsylvania are making historic strides toward change.

Multiple states have recently amended their divorce laws in order to expedite the process and facilitate better, more cooperative outcomes for couples parting ways. While none of the reforms contain drastic or sweeping change, they are the first…

The number of people representing themselves in court is on the rise, especially in family court. In response to these changing realities, lawyers are increasingly exploring alternative means of delivering their services, so people who need access to legal advice and services are not left behind—and one of these alternative methods is unbundled legal services,

For the last ten years, IAALS—the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System—has worked to rebuild the civil justice system. After much work, and through collaboration with some of the very best minds in the country, we are finally reaching a critical goalpost in that mission.

Judges are the linchpin of the court system—the piece that that holds the wheels on. When a judge is engaged, attentive, and dedicated to assuring that each litigant gets the best the system can offer, then the process moves smoothly. When a judge is overworked, out of touch, or unprepared, then the wheels fall off.

Nearly 110 years ago, Roscoe Pound proclaimed: “Dissatisfaction with the administration of justice is as old as the law itself.” In 2015, that sentiment endures and is echoed in the mounting call for real, meaningful change in our civil justice…

How do you talk to children about divorce? And, do we realize just how far the effects of divorce can reach? In a recent article for Psychology Today, Splitopia author Wendy Paris discusses these questions and takes a hard look at the realities of…

According to a new study by Reuters, in states where supreme court justices are elected and reelected by the voters, justices uphold death sentences more often than their counterparts in states where justices stand for retention or reappointment…

Do you trust the judiciary? If you thought “yes,” then you may be in a shrinking crowd. Judge Kevin S. Burke, Hennepin County district judge and IAALS board member, begins a recent article with candor – Public trust in the courts has dropped to an…

Congratulations to IAALS Board of Advisors member Sheila Slocum Hollis on her appointment as the new Chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Law Library of Congress.

We’re incredibly excited to share the first results of our Foundations for Practice project and help build on what we’ve learned at this year’s Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference. Foundations for Practice is a first-of-its-kind effort to identify the foundations entry-level lawyers need to succeed in practice.

This summer, the legal community lost a giant: Don Scott. Don was a Harvard undergraduate and Yale law graduate whose practice began and grew under the aegis of Kirkland and Ellis. In 1993, Don, Fred Bartlit, Phil Beck, Skip Herman, Jim Palenchar…

With the leadership of Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a coalition of groups in Ohio has launched a new website—Judicial Votes Count—to better educate voters in judicial elections. The site offers information about the structure of the Ohio court system and the role of judges in that system, as well as details about how to vote in Ohio.

“Complicated,” “costly,” and “unobtainable” are words that Pope Francis wishes to eliminate from the common description of marriage annulments within the Catholic Church. The pope has issued a new law that sets out a number of changes designed to…

It is no surprise that there is much confusion around how judges get to be judges in the United States. No two states use the same method to select and retain their judges, and even in individual states, the method may vary by the level of court and even location.

Not all divorces are ugly. Shannon and Chris Neuman, a Canadian couple, recently finalized their divorce in Calgary, Alberta. The final consummation of their divorce: a selfie outside the courthouse. The ex-couple’s selfie is a celebration of the…

The California State Bar recently issued a final opinion weighing in on the question of an attorney’s ethical duties in handling the discovery of electronically stored information. In its Formal Opinion No. 2015-193, the State Bar of California…

Navigating federal court without an attorney, self-represented ( pro se) litigants are often lost “in a maze of procedural rules and arcane terminology,” regardless of the strength of their case. However, starting this past March, low-income self…