News & Updates

Kentucky State Representative Jason Nemes pre-filed bills at the end of 2017 that would change how state appellate judges are selected. Should the bills pass, the governor would select judges from a recommended list of qualified candidates provided by a Judicial Nominating Commission instead of forcing judges to run for election. The public would then cast their vote for or against a given judge in retention elections at the end of each judge’s eight-year term.

IAALS’ new publication, A Roadmap for Review: Guide for Appraisal and Improvement of Caseflow Management in Civil Cases in U.S. District Courts, provides the tools for any interested federal judge to make a quick, initial assessment of the status of his or her civil case docket to measure how it compares to his or her colleagues as well as to courts across the nation. If further analysis and appraisal are deemed appropriate or desirable, this Guide provides the user with the tools to do so and recommendations for better practices.

Dean Larry Kramer of Stanford writes that law schools don't necessarily teach the way they did 20 or 30 years ago. Many, he claims, have evolved to meet the needs of the profession. On the contrary, the professional education law students get today…

​At the end of last year, I posed the question: “was 2017 a year of change?” To which I answered, “yes . . . but not enough.” I challenged the legal industry in 2018 to make goals together and support one another so we can become more client-focused, affordable and truly show the value our legal system provides. Several have accepted the challenge, including an entity that’s been a leader in advancing the legal system since its inception: IAALS. One example of their collaborative leadership was co-hosting the “Better Access through Unbundling” conference with the ABA late last year, at which I had the pleasure of being a panelist.

In a recent speech to the Ohio State Bar Association, Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor identified eight areas in which the state’s process for electing judges might be improved. Among the reforms that O’Connor put on the table were the creation of a nominating commission to advise the governor in filling judicial vacancies between elections. O’Connor encourages public discussion of the reform proposals through a new website.

Substantial contributions from trial lawyers to an intermediate appellate court candidate became an issue in the campaign. Republicans accused the Democratic recipient of the contributions of “putting justice for sale” when he accepted $300,000 from a trial lawyers PAC.

According to news reports, a state district judge in Oklahoma agreed to resign following a petition describing numerous acts of misconduct. The case illustrates several aspects of state judicial discipline highlighted in a recent IAALS report.

Back in March, the Kansas legislature adopted a new process for choosing intermediate appellate court judges in the 2013 session. The governor will make judicial appointments with full discretion, which must then be confirmed by the senate. This process will kick into gear on July 1, but Governor Brownback has announced a new wrinkle: the names of applicants for the judicial position will not be made public.

American Bar Association President Bill Robinson responds to recent scrutiny of the judiciary.

Employers, particularly those in large firms, have been candid about their hiring preferences, which lean toward academic excellence. The legal profession is rampant with biases in favor of academic excellence. However, as it turns out, the best and the brightest might not be all they’re cracked up to be.

For the second time in his tenure—and the second time in state history—New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declined to renominate a sitting supreme court justice. Christie offered two rationales for the decision to pass over Justice Helen Hoens in favor of superior court judge Faustino Fernandez-Vina: his interest in sparing Justice Hoens the senate's likely "political vengeance" in the confirmation process and the need for more diversity on the high court.

Justice Gerry Alexander is retiring after 38 years of service on the state’s courts. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2011.

Many law schools have been developing courses based around technology and the law; however, there is often a mismatch between the tech skills that law firms need and the skills that these law school technology courses are actually teaching.

At a recent public forum, Ohio's three newest supreme court justices discussed the threat posed to state courts by significant turnover on the bench. Over the next six years, four of the high court's seven justices—along with approximately 100 judges statewide—will reach retirement age. Justice Sharon Kennedy acknowledged that change of this magnitude could lead to questions about the stability of state laws and their application.

Calls mounted for supreme court justice Joan Orie Melvin to step down from the court or take a temporary leave of absence as a grand jury investigates charges that she violated state election laws in her past judicial campaigns.

In two promising developments for regulatory reform, the Arizona Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services published its official report and recommendations, and the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Foundation announced the creation of a task force to identify regulatory reform recommendations. Arizona's recommendations reflect IAALS' vision for a consumer-centered regulatory system that will better meet the needs of all people. 

Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers announces a newly expanded and integrated collection of online legal education resources. These innovative teaching tools give law schools and professors the means to reevaluate classes and curriculum from the ground up, and are designed to help law schools ensure that their students are prepared for the demands of an evolving profession.

On the new blog, The Legal Whiteboard, Bill Henderson highlights an article on legal education reform written by an adjunct professor. Henderson: Law professors rarely engage with these critiques; to acknowledge these critiques, some might argue, is…

Efforts to re-regulate and innovate legal services took a major step forward last week at the Conference of Chief Justices’ midyear meeting, where members adopted Resolution 2. With the adoption of this resolution, CCJ adds its voice to the chorus calling for solutions to close the justice gap and rethinking the current regulatory framework to improve and expand the legal services offered to the public.

IAALS, in conjunction with the ACTL, has released a new report that highlights key civil case management techniques for judges that have the potential to streamline litigation in their courtrooms. Working Smarter, Not Harder: How Excellent Judges Manage Cases documents the recommendations and key practices of nearly 30 state and federal trial court judges, who were identified as being outstanding and efficient case managers.