At Touro Law Center, we have developed the 1L Pro Bono Project, a mandatory first-year program that integrates basic doctrinal knowledge, an introduction to professional skills and values, and a commitment to social justice. Our curricular reform is predicated on a multidimensional perspective that conceives of legal education not as a horizontal continuum, but rather as a learning web where 1L students form a central core from which they build outwards, in multiple directions, towards greater competency levels.

On December 1, Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure was amended to recognize that the rules should be construed, administered, “and employed by the court and the parties” to secure a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination in every case. This change is part of the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and this blog is one in a series this month on the significant changes.

In this short presentation from October’s Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference, I talk about preliminary outcomes of Suffolk’s innovation curriculum. The innovation curriculum consists of courses in legal technology, practice management, and the delivery of legal services that form the basis of Suffolk’s concentration in legal technology and innovation and Accelerator to Practice Program. I

IAALS is all about innovation, for the benefit of everyone who depends on our legal system—from lawyers and judges to everyday citizens who need...

Citing concerns about the erosion of “citizens’ and businesses’ confidence in the integrity of their judges,” a new report from the Committee for Economic Development calls for states to replace judicial elections with elements of the O’Connor Judicial Selection Plan.

At Seattle University School of Law, our goal is to have a comprehensive, integrated skills curriculum. We feel good about our curriculum’s comprehensiveness; we have focused in recent years on integration. Our legal writing and clinical faculty in particular have collaborated extensively over the last several years, including holding a yearly joint retreat. We also collaborate on the Real Clients in the First Year Project, where our first-year legal writing students work on a slice of a pending clinical case or on a live issue from a legal nonprofit.

In 2013, the Colorado Judicial Branch created the Self-Represented Litigant Coordinator (Sherlock) program. The Sherlocks, operating in courthouses in...

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

Just a week ago, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect. Of the amendments, the most significant—and controversial—changes are to Rule 26, which specifically incorporates proportionality into the scope of discovery.

In this Ignite talk from the 2015 ETL Conference, we talk about the new Problem Solving I course, which is a required course, taught during the 1L Fall Semester. This course introduces students to a standard problem-solving methodology that they can use in a variety of settings, including transactional, litigation, and governmental. This course also stresses the importance of fact gathering. Students participate in five simulations, including an interview each student conducts during the second week of law school.

Recently, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and I met with the other members and staff of the Conference of Chief Justices Civil Justice Improvements Committee for its fourth plenary meeting in Washington, D.C. The committee is evaluating civil justice improvement efforts around the country and developing guidelines and best practices for civil litigation, as well as caseflow management.

So often when parents begin the process of separation and divorce they feel vulnerable and uncertain about how to proceed. Their greatest fear is the potential of harm to their children. The Center for Out of Court Divorce – Denver (COCD or Center) offers parents a proven way forward that is designed to reduce conflict, save time and money, and support the long term well-being of the family.