The 640-page Agenda Book reflects the broad range of matters currently being tackled by the federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee, which met in...

The Alaska Supreme Court has issued an Order establishing an informal trial for divorce, property division, parenting agreements, and child support cases. The informal trial process is voluntary. If both parties to a case consent to an informal trial, they will speak directly to the judge and the Rules of Evidence will be relaxed.

Many law schools are answering the call for “practice-ready” graduates by implementing and growing clinical programs, externships, and simulation courses. The National Jurist recently announced its 2015 Best Schools for Practical Training, with rankings and grades given to schools based on the percentage of their full-time students who participate in practice-focused programs.

Our 24 Principles lay the foundation for achieving fundamental improvement of our system to help ensure that no one is shut out due to a lengthy and expensive process.

In April, over half of Wisconsin voters approved a proposed constitutional amendment that will allow the members of the state supreme court to select its chief justice, rather than the chief justice being determined by seniority.

Over the last eight years, our impacts have been felt across the country. A critical component of our success lies in our approach to tackling the challenging issues we face.

The National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ) launched the Justice Index just over a year ago. This first-of-its-kind Index provides a spectrum of...

In the fall of 2013, IAALS and the National Judicial College co-hosted an educational summit exclusively tailored for state court judges on all facets...

The prestige of your law school is not all that counts when it comes to making partner at a big law firm. In a recent study of 33,000 lawyers at the...

This month, IAALS will hold its annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner and honor the members of the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice. The Task Force began its work with IAALS in 2008, with goal of generating a nationwide discussion about the state of our civil justice system and promoting active consideration of proposed changes to make the system more accessible, affordable, efficient, and just.

The West Virginia legislature has passed, and the governor has signed, a bill that makes elections for the state's judges nonpartisan. Despite the new legislation, it is not possible to remove all traces of partisanship from judicial races. An additional consequence of the new law is that it effectively ends straight-ticket voting for judges.

The Texas Lawyer recently reported on Texas’ downward trend in civil lawsuits, which have dropped 17 percent over the last 10 years. The change in numbers presents many questions, with different perspectives as to the cause on all sides. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht has said that the state’s judiciary must delve further into the statistics to find answers.