IAALS is pleased to announce that Amy Livingston has joined the organization as its new Director of Development. She brings over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector as an executive leader, strategic thought partner, philanthropic advisor, consultant, and board chair/member.
IAALS is deeply saddened by the news of Paula Littlewood’s passing, and we extend our sympathies to her family, friends, and colleagues. Paula’s partnership with IAALS was long and deep, and we will sorely miss her.
IAALS relies on a tremendous group of partners who help guide our work, and we are pleased to announce that Carla van Dongen, Vice President - Counsel for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, will chair our Business Leadership Network as well as serve on our Board of Advisors.
IAALS has launched a new award to recognize innovators who have made significant impacts early in their legal careers toward making the American legal system work better for everyone who needs it and everyone who is a part of it: the Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award.
IAALS is pleased to announce that two of our own have been promoted to director positions as of July 1: Logan Cornett has been promoted to Director of Research and Zack DeMeola has been promoted to Director of Legal Education and the Legal Profession.
IAALS has announced that Scott Bales, its Executive Director, will step down effective July 31, 2020. Sam Walker has been appointed by the IAALS Executive Committee to serve as Interim Executive Director while IAALS conducts a nationwide search for the position.
On August 9, 2020, friends, family, and fans of Alli Gerkman will gather virtually for Alli’s Rally: a fun, free, casual self-supported bike ride to celebrate Alli’s love for riding, her infectious laughter, and her extraordinary legacy.
In this unprecedented time, IAALS continues in its work to ensure everyone who needs it has access to justice we can believe in. Our mission is critical, now more than ever—and we rely on a tremendous group of partners who help guide our work. We are thrilled to announce three new advisors: James J. Sandman, Kathryn A. Reilly, and Joey Orduña Hastings.
In the first-ever, broad-based research of its kind, IAALS is partnering with HiiL to assess the justice needs of people and businesses in the United States. The issue of access to justice is broader and deeper in our society than has historically been recognized. What we learn will provide the insight we need to reform the American legal system and tailor services to meet the needs of all users.
As thousands prepare to sit for the bar exam, IAALS is spearheading an empirical effort to define the minimum competence they need to practice law and to ensure the fairness, efficacy, and validity of the bar exam itself.
IAALS is pleased to announce that Kelsey Montague has joined the organization as its new Associate Director of Marketing and Public Relations. Kelsey has spent her career developing robust marketing and media campaigns and social media strategies to help raise awareness and foster impact.
On Thursday, April 25, IAALS will present the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and our four Foundations for Practice partner schools with the 2019 Rebuilding Justice Annual Award at our 12th Annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner for their efforts in bringing the Foundations project to life.
In an important step toward making family courts more user-friendly and less adversarial, the Conference of Chief Justices has adopted new guidelines to help courts be more responsive to the needs of families.
After 13 years of growing IAALS from a fledgling idea to a nationally recognized force for change and evolution on the legal landscape, Rebecca Love Kourlis will retire from her role as Executive Director in September. The Chancellor of the University of Denver, Rebecca Chopp, and the Executive Committee of IAALS have opted to fill Kourlis’ formidable shoes with another national leader, Scott Bales, who recently announced he will step down as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.
As we move into the New Year, everyone at IAALS is excited to be taking on new projects, creating new relationships, and continuing the important work that moves us toward a more accessible and efficient justice system. To help us pursue that goal, we are welcoming Brooke Meyer to our team, who will serve as a manager, working across our state and federal civil-focused projects.
Today, IAALS announces the release of The Initial Discovery Protocols for First-Party Insurance Property Damage Cases Arising from Disasters Protocols, which provides a new pretrial procedure for cases involving first-party insurance property damage claims arising from man-made or natural disasters.
The road to recovery is arduous for disaster victims. For the increasing numbers of those victims who end up in court in an effort to recover damages, the process can be protracted and complex. Courts are quickly overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of the cases and these challenges quickly frustrate victims already struggling to rebuild. But even with a documented upswing in both the number and severity of natural disasters, it doesn’t have to be this way.
The State of Oregon continues to blaze a trail in civil justice reform. A new report from the Oregon Judicial Department, released at the end of June, contains recommendations to improve civil justice in the state, and it provides a master class for other states looking to reform their own systems.
IAALS has long focused on increasing access to justice by helping courts develop policies and procedures to make civil litigation more efficient and less expensive. But it’s not just courts and judges that can improve access to justice—attorneys too can take steps to refine their practices to help bridge the justice gap.
We are pleased to announce the next "phase" of IAALS, in recognition that continuous improvement is not only vital for our legal system—it is vital within IAALS. Over the last year, we have been working to reshape and restructure IAALS to allow us to be as nimble, visible, and impactful as possible. To that end, we have bolstered our leadership, changed our organization, and launched our new website.
