On Saturday, IAALS Executive Director and former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis delivered the commencement address to the 2016 graduates of the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. Approximately 240 law students heard Becky unveil what it is new lawyers need to succeed, based on research findings from IAALS' Foundations for Practice project.

The National Center for Access to Justice at Cardozo Law School recently released the Justice Index 2016—an updated version of the 2014 Index.

There is lots of talk about making changes in legal education at law schools. That's no surprise, law professors love to talk. If they loved practicing law, they'd be lawyers. Instead, ensconced in the ivory tower, safe from the perils of the real world, they leisurely debate what should happen to those poor souls (law students) who must leave the hallowed halls of law school, and actually go out in the world to practice law.

The use of social media by jurors is a growing problem. In response, California passed a state law in 2011 making violations punishable by contempt. Since then, such misconduct has only increased as jurors become even more technologically savvy and connected via smartphones.

Despite efforts by courts, communities, and bar associations around the country, there remains a serious need for tools that provide self-represented litigants with easy access to the information and resources required to appropriately navigate the court system. Technology is increasingly being leveraged in self-help solutions, and the concept of the litigant portal is at the core of this strategy.

In time for the election season, IAALS today announced a new toolkit designed to educate voters about the performance record of judges up for retention. Judges Aren’t Sexy: Engaging and Educating Voters in a Crowded World is available immediately for states to use in their voter education efforts. In many states, voters have the right to decide which judges stay on the bench and which do not. However, getting readily understandable information about a judge’s record into the hands of voters has been difficult, until now.

It is hard to believe it has been seven months since our 4th Annual Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference last fall, where we presented initial results from our Foundations for Practice survey. Since that gathering, we have heard from countless legal educators who are embarking on the process to define and measure learning outcomes—and who are using Foundations for Practice to inform that process.

In a recent Colorado Public Radio/Colorado Matters story, the Center for Out-of-Court Divorce was featured as a promising alternative to the traditional lengthy, expensive, and often contentious in-court divorce.

It has been my honor to participate in IAALS’ Quality Judges Initiative as a member of the O’Connor Advisory Committee. Much of my time serving as President of the American Bar Association in 2008-2009 was devoted to efforts to assure adequate funding for the judicial branch of government and to improve judicial selection in order to assure fair and impartial courts; service on Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s committee was a logical following step after my term as ABA President ended. As a member of the O’Connor Advisory Committee, I have seen firsthand how QJI brings focus to the national debate on judicial selection issues and challenges. We have members who give perspective to the issues from various diverse backgrounds in order to come up with workable recommendations on judicial selection and judicial performance evaluation.

Back in 2011, Utah implemented significant statewide changes to its rules of civil procedure governing disclosure and discovery, incorporating proportionality and presumptive discovery limits based on tiers. Once again Utah is on the leading edge, implementing a Civil Case Management Pilot Program that promotes increased judicial case management oversight.

On December 1, 2015, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect, including changes focused on cooperation...

Last week, IAALS held our annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner in celebration of our 10th Anniversary and the remarkable progress we've made as a national force for legal reform. Our work is not accomplished alone, which is why we honored both past awardees and current partners for their dedication and their innovation.