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...

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...

Navigating federal court without an attorney, self-represented ( pro se) litigants are often lost “in a maze of procedural rules and arcane...

When the Senate went into recess in August it was on pace to set a new record for fewest judicial confirmations within the final two years of a...

In a recent article in the California Bar Journal, Judge Mark A. Juhas of the Los Angeles County Superior Court described the numerous benefits that...

The concept of procedural justice has been around for almost half a century and promotes a different style of courtroom interaction. At its core, procedural justice emphasizes that judges be listeners and creative problem solvers. When judges take the time to ensure they explain and are understood, those in their courtroom have a greater likelihood of feeling respected and heard, and the outcomes viewed more positively.

he Quality Judges Initiative at IAALS, along with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and other members of our advisory committee, has been reaching out to governors of these states to urge them to use nominating commissions when filling court openings that occur between scheduled elections. These vacancy nominating commissions invite applications for open positions, screen and interview the candidates who apply, and recommend a short list of the best qualified to the governor for appointment.

Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Director Alli Gerkman was invited to speak on “The Changing Legal Landscape” at the opening plenary session for the...

On August 20 and 21, the multidisciplinary Honoring Families Initiative (HFI) Advisory Committee convened in Denver. The meeting agenda included in-depth discussion of preliminary data collected over the last several months as part of the HFI Cases Without Counsel (CWC) project.

The National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP) in Canada continues to build upon the important initial research conducted by Dr. Julie...

On the occasion of his retirement, John Lande, now Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri School of Law and ETL Fellow, collected his advice to law students and lawyers in an essay entitled “My Last Lecture: More Unsolicited Advice for Future and Current Lawyers.”