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...

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...