Since opening in September 2013, the University of Denver’s Resource Center for Separating and Divorcing Families has served as an invaluable resource not only for participating families, but also for the graduate students who have an opportunity to work within their field and gain experience. In January’s Family Court Review, students and supervisors share their perspectives on the experience.

IAALS congratulates Colorado's Judicially Speaking on receiving the Sandra Day O'Connor Award for Advancement of Civics Education from the National Center for State Courts. Judicially Speaking is a civics education program founded by Colorado trial judges, including friend of IAALS Judge David Prince. The program is designed to promote middle and high school students' understanding of the role of the judiciary in the American legal system.

Are law school graduates ready to enter the profession, engage in the practice, and serve clients? Many law schools have developed more robust experiential training in recent years. One such program is educating law students who are outperforming their colleagues in the field who have been licensed to practice law for up to two years, according to a study conducted by Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers.

In its effort to highlight the paradigm shift in how law is being practiced, the ABA Journal recently reported on the IAALS model for a less adversarial, out-of-court divorce process and the first implementation of this model at the University of Denver. While a comprehensive, three-year evaluation of the Resource Center for Separating and Divorcing Families is underway by IAALS, anecdotes from families who have proceeded through the process show that it is succeeding.

Those of you who attended our conference last fall probably had a chance to talk with Elise Miller, Vice President of Research Programs at Access Group, who has been developing their new grant-making program that will support projects and research that aim to address the challenges facing legal education today. The deadline is January 31 for schools interested in applying for a grant through the unsolicited grants program.

With the new year comes reflections on the past, and predictions for the future. This is equally true in the world of e-discovery, and there are many commentators around the country who are taking this opportunity to reflect on the highlights of 2014 and make predictions for 2015. As for our predictions? We know changing the way the civil justice system operates is a function of changing Rules, case flow management procedures, and culture.

Last Tuesday’s Supreme Court argument was the latest chapter in the Court’s struggle to balance electoral candidates’ right to solicit campaign donations against the appearance or actual threat of corruption that arises when litigants or attorneys donate to a judge’s election campaign and later appear before that same judge in court. What all the Justices seemed to agree about—that electing state court judges poses great risk to the legitimacy of the states’ judiciaries—remains beyond their power to remedy.

Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark S. Cady announced in his 2015 State of the Judiciary speech the creation of a task force “to make recommendations for greater consistency, efficiency, and transparency in the resolution of family law cases.” According to Chief Justice Cady, “[t]hese cases are a big portion of our workload, and now is the time to make sure Iowa’s court system provides the best possible practices and outcomes for families who need our courts during difficult times.”

ETL is about to release its first major report—a study of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program. The report is not even public yet, but it was already highlighted in the Wall Street Journal and criticized at Above the Law. Ultimately, if law schools are going to develop programs that better prepare students and if prospective students are going to rely on those programs, then legal employers must value them. And, we're working on ways to help ensure that happens.

Discovery in litigation can be complicated and expensive, and electronic discovery is no exception. The preservation and production of electronically stored information presents ample opportunities for complication and expense. To provide education for judges tackling these issues, IAALS and the National Judicial College will co-host a webcast on February 18, 2015, at no cost for state court judges.

According to data presented by Russell Wheeler of the Brookings Institution, President Obama has seen a higher judicial confirmation rate (92 percent) after six years in office than did President George W. Bush (84 percent) and President Clinton (89 percent) at this point in their terms. President Obama is also making his mark on the federal courts in terms of diversity. The 305 Obama-nominated judges are the most diverse group ever.

The National Center for State Courts recently released a screening tool for divorce cases to help courts “meaningfully differentiate cases.” The tool is designed to identify families who are largely in agreement on the issues in their case and need minimal or no court assistance. The tool is not a one-size-fits-all instrument, and jurisdictions around the country can adapt it to their particular circumstances.