Over the last decade, it has been a great pleasure to work with IAALS on efforts to improve our legal process and to change our legal culture. Chief Justice John Roberts devoted his recent “2015 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary” to a discussion of the groundbreaking amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Chief Justice began with a description of the practice of dueling in the early 1800s and the public disgust with this means of dispute resolution that led to a wider use of the courts for resolving disputes. And, he alluded to a similar distaste for modern litigation practices characterized by “antagonistic tactics, wasteful procedural maneuvers, and teetering brinksmanship” for “wearing down opponents with creatively burdensome discovery requests or evading legitimate requests through dilatory tactics.” Clearly, there is growing recognition that we are ripe for a change in legal culture.

In April, there will be a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for Colorado due to the impending retirement of Judge Robert Blackburn. As with all Article III judgeships, the President will nominate someone to fill the seat, and that person must then be confirmed by a majority of the Senate—no small task in the final year of President Obama’s second term and with divided government.

John Moye, IAALS co-founder and Board of Advisors member, was recently honored with the coveted National Association of Secretaries of State Medallion...

The North Carolina Bar Association is exploring how tweaks in its judicial evaluation process can have real impact on results. As recommended by both the NCSC and IAALS, the latest performance evaluation surveys included a structured free recall exercise that urged attorneys to think of specific experiences with the judges they are about to rate, rather than general impressions, along with both positive and negative aspects of those experiences.

Today, we celebrate ten years of IAALS and ten years of work rebuilding justice across the United States. A milestone, to be sure. One that marks our first chapter in reform of the American legal system. One that begins the next decade of change and improvement. And one that would not be possible without you: the lawyers, judges, legal educators, courts, states, and everyday citizens who have supported IAALS and the movement we’ve begun together.

In December, major changes were made to the rules regarding civil procedure in federal courts. The federal rules refocus and reaffirm the legal community’s commitment to providing a just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution for everyone who brings their case to court. The new rules lay out expectations for lawyers and judges to take this promise seriously and to keep the process moving, open, and accessible for all.

Last week, Chief Justice John Roberts dedicated his 2015 year-end report on the State of the Judiciary to extolling the new amendments to the Federal...

At the beginning of this month, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect. Of the amendments, the one that...

An important takeaway from the May 2010 Conference on Civil Litigation held at Duke University Law School, sponsored by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, was that the disposition of civil actions in our federal courts could be improved by advancing early judicial case management. As a result, the package of amendments that grew out of the Duke Conference, and that went into effect on December 1 of this year, seek to promote sustained, active, hands-on judicial case management.

The Utah Supreme Court has approved the development of a new program to help litigants navigate the court system. A Supreme Court Task Force established to examine the issue recommended that Limited Paralegal Practitioners (LPPs) be authorized to assist clients with filling out legal forms and preparing settlements, among other tasks, in certain areas of the law, including family law.

Throughout the month of December, we've been releasing the 16 Ignite-style presentations given at our 4th Annual Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference by ETL Fellows and faculty from across the ETL Consortium. The short videos cover an array of issues, from the innovations and outcomes of law school classes, programs, or curricula, to innovations within the realm of legal education more broadly.

Legal education has been undergoing a great metamorphosis to adapt to a changing legal market. In recent years, we have witnessed an increase of...