News & Updates

To address the challenges posed by the rising number of debt collection cases in our state courts—including high rates of self-represented litigants and default judgments—IAALS and the National Center for State Courts have released a new white paper that presents a model approach to reform in these cases.

Small and mid-size business owners struggle with access to justice issues just as individuals do, with real ramifications for their businesses and their communities. Through the US Justice Needs project, IAALS will be surveying businesses, from small to large, so that we can better understand justice needs from their perspective. 

IAALS is excited to announce the creation of a new Advisory Committee in support of its US Justice Needs project, which is conducting research to assess the justice needs of people and businesses in the United States. The Advisory Committee will inform the work of the project, including assisting in tailoring HiiL’s individual survey for administration in the United States and developing a survey for businesses.

The National Center for States Courts has released the first in a series of evaluations of civil justice reform demonstration pilot projects around the country. The pilot, in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, focused on implementing civil case management teams (CCMTs)—an innovative court staffing model that delegates case management responsibilities across a team of judges and staff.

On May 17, 2019, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association will honor IAALS Senior Director Alli Gerkman with the Mary Lathrop Trailblazer Award at their “All Rise” 42nd Annual Convention. The CWBA is honoring Alli for her outstanding work to improve legal education, the legal profession, and the legal system at large—a true legal trailblazer.

As state courts around the country have been responding to the Conference of Chief Justices' 2016 Call to Action for civil justice reform, IAALS, NCSC, and NCJFCJ also have been focused on developing companion recommendations for evaluating and improving the way courts handle domestic relations cases, which have just been released.

Last October, the Federal Judicial Center released a second report on the Pilot Project Regarding Initial Discovery Protocols for Employment Cases Alleging Adverse Action, which sets forth a set of pattern discovery protocols developed by a task force of plaintiff and defense attorneys working in conjunction with IAALS.

This month IAALS is co-hosting the third in a series of webinars with the National Center for State Courts focused on providing practical information and guidance on implementing civil justice reform, titled, "Civil Justice Reform: Making Motions Practice More Effective and Efficient." The webinars are part of our three-year Civil Justice Initiative implementation project focused on providing support for on-the-ground reform through education, expert assistance, regional action planning summits, demonstration projects, and a variety of tools.

Next month IAALS will participate in an American Bar Association webinar, titled Hurricanes, Floods, and Fires, Oh My!: How to Improve Discovery in a Flood of Post-Disaster Property Insurance Lawsuits, which will also feature IAALS' initial discovery protocols for first-party insurance cases arising from disasters. 

Judges and attorneys from across the country point to dispositive motions as a critical area for reform. Today, IAALS announces the release of a new report, Efficiency in Motion: Recommendations for Improving Dispositive Motions Practice in State and Federal Courts, calling for a new paradigm for motion practice in the United States. The report is the culmination of nearly three years of research, surveys, and expert input into the opportunities for improvement and innovation.

For the fifth year in a row, the National Center for State Courts has conducted a comprehensive public opinion survey to gauge the level of public trust and confidence in the state courts. The State of the State Courts survey provides an important window into public views of our court system, including comparisons across past surveys and insights into key issues for the future of our state courts including self-representation and online dispute resolution.

The National Center for State Courts recently released an “explainer video” for courts to use as a resource when educating the public about the role of our state courts. The video looks back at the establishment of the judicial branch and the vision of our founders—of a court system that makes decisions based on law not public opinion, that is fair and impartial, that is accountable to the law and the Constitution, and open to people.

Over the past two years, IAALS has been collaborating with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) on a three-year project to support the modernization and transformation of civil litigation in our state courts. In October we hosted our final meeting for the Midwest Region in Kansas City, Missouri, where over 40 states and territories attended. 

This week IAALS is cohosting the first in a series of webinars with NCSC focused on providing practical information and guidance on implementing civil justice reform. The webinars are part of our three-year Civil Justice Initiative implementation project focused on providing support for on-the-ground reform.

More and more states are focused on civil justice reform in an effort to ensure their courts are accessible, efficient, and relevant to all. Arizona has been a long time leader in civil justice reform, and issued a series of rule changes that recently took effect July 1, 2018.

As part of our three-year project to support the modernization and transformation of civil litigation in our state courts, IAALS has helped facilitate a series of regional strategic planning summits to help states develop an action plan for reform or other activities in their respective jurisdictions.

It is inspiring to watch as more and more states begin to address access to justice issues within their own courts. Arizona has been a leader in taking up the Call to Action from the Conference of Chief Justices and is in the process of implementing reforms. Arizona’s Civil Justice Reform Committee issued its report and recommendations, A Call to Reform: The Committee on Civil Justice Reform’s Report to the Arizona Judicial Council, in October 2016. The Supreme Court reviewed those recommendations and issued a series of rule changes that will take effect July 1, 2018.

Last year, IAALS and the National Center for State Courts released a new Roadmap for Implementation to guide state courts implementing civil justice reform efforts. IAALS and NCSC will ultimately work with one state from each region of the United States as it follows the Roadmap through implementation of civil justice reform. Idaho and Maine were previously announced as Roadmap states and we are excited to add Texas and Missouri to this list. I was fortunate to visit both states last month to support their reform efforts.

How can jury trials be better? That was the question being discussed at the Jury Improvement Lunch recently held in Denver by the New York University School of Law's Civil Jury Project. The luncheon was sponsored by a number of local bar organizations, including IAALS, and hosted by a number of local law firms. Headed by attorney Stephen Susman, the Civil Jury Project is holding similar events across the country at which judges and recent jurors are brought together to share progressive trial practices with the local bench and bar.

On January 18-19, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona, the National Center for State Courts and the Maricopa County Superior Court will host a Civil Justice Initiative Implementation Workshop on the Nuts and Bolts of Civil Justice Reform. This workshop is part of the three-year implementation effort that follows the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) endorsement of 13 recommendations designed to transform the civil justice system in our state courts.