News & Updates

At IAALS’ Fourth Civil Justice Reform Summit, we brought together stakeholders to brainstorm a vision for the courts of tomorrow and steps to get there. Today we release the report from that summit, Creating the Just, Speedy, and Inexpensive Courts of Tomorrow: Ideas for Impact from IAALS’ Fourth Civil Justice Reform Summit.

A just-released report recommending concrete improvements in the American civil justice system has been endorsed by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ), the country’s association of top state judicial leaders. The report—released last week at CCJ’s annual conference in Jackson, Wyoming—calls on state judicial leaders to implement 13 recommendations.

IAALS has been instrumental in changing the landscape of Colorado’s civil pre-trial practice. It all began with Becky Kourlis’ provocative and influential speech at the American College of Trial Lawyers annual meeting in March 2007, where she outlined the disturbing trends and challenges facing our justice system. Becky’s talk was the seed that grew into the ACTL Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice, which was tasked with taking a hard look at these problem areas and recommending improvements. IAALS provided a wealth of information, experience, necessary guidance, and high credibility to the Task Force.

Back in 2011, Utah implemented significant statewide changes to its rules of civil procedure governing disclosure and discovery, incorporating proportionality and presumptive discovery limits based on tiers. Once again Utah is on the leading edge, implementing a Civil Case Management Pilot Program that promotes increased judicial case management oversight.

On December 1, 2015, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect, including changes focused on cooperation, active judicial case management, proportionality in discovery, and preservation/sanctions. Proving…

Ten years ago, few would have predicted that IAALS would have such an impact on the legal system. The world wasn’t exactly clamoring for another legal think tank, and aside from a few visionaries in Denver, no one foresaw the need for an organization dedicated to the improvement of the legal system rather than partisan advocacy. Yet ten years later, IAALS has succeeded not only in prompting a conversation about how cases get litigated but in touching off a broader reexamination of a number of assumptions about attorney control over litigation, discovery, and the relationship of the legal system to the people it serves.

In February, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis gave the keynote address for the Denton Darrington Annual Lecture on Law and Government in Boise. Speaking on “Building the Just, Speedy, and Inexpensive Civil Courts of Tomorrow: Why We Cannot Afford to Fail,” Kourlis emphasized the importance of a robust and responsive civil justice system, and the need for reform.

Toward the end of last year when I first read IAALS’ report, Change the Culture, Change the System: Top 10 Cultural Shifts Needed to Create the Courts of Tomorrow, I had feelings of both trepidation and hope. It said a lot of things I have often thought about, but have not always spoken up about.

I recently attended IAALS’ Fourth Civil Justice Reform Summit and served as a faculty member on several panels. It never fails that I come away from these gatherings with more ideas. I began to take notes on this question—what can we do to effect the changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?

Last Thursday and Friday, February 25 and 26, IAALS hosted its Fourth Civil Justice Reform Summit, focused on creating the just, speedy, and inexpensive courts of tomorrow. The goal of the summit was to bring together stakeholders to chart the next steps for creating the just, speedy, and inexpensive courts of tomorrow.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of IAALS’ work to continuously improve America’s legal system and reestablish it as the aspirational model for justice globally. To mark this milestone, IAALS celebrates both its accomplishments and its bright future, all while tackling the most critical issues of the day. Having a trusted and trustworthy legal system is essential to our democracy, our economy, and our freedom. IAALS staff, founders, partners, sponsors, and advisors all recognize that to earn that trust, the legal system must be just, impartial, and responsive.

At the mid-winter Conference of Chief Justices meeting in late January, the Civil Justice Improvements Committee presented its draft recommendations to the Chiefs. I was present as an observer so that, as we complete the work of the recommendations, we can take the input from the midwinter meeting into account.

Today, December 1, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure go into effect. The “package” of amendments include rule changes across a number of rules (specifically Rules 1, 4, 16, 26, 30, 31, 33, and 34) and focus on increasing cooperation, achieving proportionality in discovery, and encouraging early case management by judges.

We are excited to open registration for IAALS’ Fourth Civil Justice Reform Summit, which will be held in Denver, February 25-26, 2016. The Summit will feature nationally renowned faculty discussing the challenges of implementing change and engaging in a dialogue with participants regarding the necessary next steps for creating the just, speedy, and inexpensive courts of tomorrow.

For the last ten years, IAALS—the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System—has worked to rebuild the civil justice system. After much work, and through collaboration with some of the very best minds in the country, we are finally reaching a critical goalpost in that mission.

As of July 1, 2015, Colorado has adopted new amendments to its rules of civil procedure with the goal of achieving a more accessible and efficient road to justice. The amended rules seek to increase the involvement of judges in pretrial activity, limit discovery to what is needed to prove a case, and increase a judge’s ability to award sanctions for noncompliance with the rules.

On April 29, 2015, the United States Supreme Court adopted amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and submitted them to Congress. The long-awaited amendments, often described as a “package” of complementary amendments, focus on increasing cooperation, achieving proportionality in discovery, and encouraging early case management by judges.

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.

Three Colorado jurists who were identified as outstanding case managers in Working Smarter, Not Harder: How Excellent Judges Manage Cases have shared their expanded views of successful practices in an article for The Colorado Lawyer. The judges cover some of the more practical suggestions they have for fellow judges, as well as attorneys.

In a recent article, Law Week Colorado covered IAALS' newest publication, Working Smarter, Not Harder: How Excellent Judges Manage Cases. The article features interviews with IAALS Executive Director and former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis and 4th Judicial District Judge David Prince, one of the judges who was featured in Working Smarter.