The Quality Judges Initiative believes that court systems should reflect the social makeup of their communities, and therefore should be diverse among many demographics. As March is Women's History Month, we recognize the many great women who have laid a foundation for inclusion in the federal judiciary. The U.S. Courts have recognized several women this month, to which we add one more.

New York has set its sights on access to justice and alleviating some of the issues that low-income litigants face needing help from justice system. In his annual State of the Judiciary address on February 17, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman put forth a number of innovative methods for making the state's judiciary more equitable and accessible.

Divorce can put families through a long and difficult process of litigation—but does it have to? At its core, the collaborative divorce process occurs outside of court and seeks to resolve issues in a more respectful and dignified setting. According to a recent article, an increasing number of divorcing spouses are turning to this option, and the ABA Journal recently profiled IAALS' out-of-court approach.

If you’re like most prospective students, there’s a good chance the U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings will play some kind of role in your decision about where to go to law school. We can all debate the merits of the rankings as a method for choosing a law school, but we can’t stop the world from clamoring for them. So until they’re announced, here are some things to keep you occupied.

As has become standard operating procedure in the last several sessions, the Kansas legislature is once again considering proposals to alter the process for selecting the state's appellate judges. Chief Justice Lawton Nuss has spoken out against efforts to end Kansas' merit selection process for appellate judges and has found an ally in O'Connor Advisory Committee member and former Chief Justice of Texas Wallace Jefferson.

Pennsylvania is one of two states that is electing supreme court justices in 2015. To provide the public with information about judges on the ballot, the Pennsylvania Bar Association offers ratings of appellate judicial candidates provided by the Bar's Judicial Evaluation Commission (JEC). But, a sitting commonwealth court judge and supreme court candidate has called that evaluation process into question.

Last year, the ABA’s Student Lawyer featured Alli Gerkman and her advice for current law students. Gerkman discussed the value of building a personal network and the importance of making and fostering professional connections right from the get-go. "Your success and your ability to make an impact are limited only by the breadth and quality of your personal connections," she said.

Social and mainstream media is abuzz with coverage of a recent segment on HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, in which Oliver skewers judicial elections. With clips of campaign ads that range from the absurd to the appalling, and extreme examples of the tactics some judicial candidates have used to garner campaign contributions, Oliver shines a hilarious but no less accurate light on the "horrifying spectacle" of judicial elections.

A recent survey commissioned by the NCSC explored public opinions of the court system. Compared to a similar survey conducted in April 2012, assessments of state court systems on such measures as integrity, customer service, and stewardship of taxpayer dollars have improved. However, the public still has concerns about the influence of partisanship and political dealmaking, as well as the potential for waste and inefficiency, in the justice system.

A federal judge recently issued an order sharing her impatience with the ongoing discovery disputes of the parties. In addition to highlighting the cost and delay associated with such disputes, the court’s order also highlighted the possibilities for a different process to resolve such disputes. And, there is a clear movement across the country, at the state and federal level, toward these types of alternate processes for handling discovery motions.

Law Week Colorado recently published an article highlighting Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers' report, Ahead of the Curve: Turning Law Students into Lawyers, which examines the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. The collaboration exemplified by the program will pave the way for more successful innovations in legal education, according to Alli Gerkman.

The proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their potential impact continue to be on the forefront of discussions around the country. During a recent webinar, the Civil Rules Advisory Committee Chairman, Judge David Campbell, discussed the history of the amendments and the unprecedented number of public comments received during the rulemaking process. The discussion of the proposed amendments continued at Legal Tech New York, where a panel of judges spoke on their impact.