News & Updates

The last twelve months have been an unforgettable crucible. At IAALS, we have taken a hard look at our work and what it will take to build a better legal system for everyone. Our 2020 Annual Report illustrates our ability to foster the change we need—and our capacity to do even more.

Since 2018, the Colorado Bar Association Federal Pro Se Clinic has been helping people navigate the overwhelming process of filing and pursuing a lawsuit in federal court without a lawyer. Use of the clinic has increased substantially in the time it has been in operation, and all signs point to increasing demand for pro se assistance. 

Last month, IAALS kicked off our Pandemic Positives Speaker Series, bringing together a number of courts and legal service providers who, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, transformed their day-to-day operations to continue serving the public throughout this critical time.

Throughout the past ten months, our justice system has made giant strides in its use of technology, including video- and tele-conferencing, e-filing, remote jury trials, and online dispute resolution. The question now faced by many courts is: are these digital processes working like they’re supposed to?

IAALS has released new initial discovery protocols to help both businesses and insurers alike reach a quick resolution to the rapid increase in court cases involving business interruption insurance property damage claims due to COVID-19.

The pandemic has affected our civil justice system in many ways, yet perhaps the most important role access to justice entities can play in the near future is to advocate for the retention of remote access systems for court appearances as well as for the delivery of legal and self-help services.

On December 31, 2020, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued his annual year-end report on the federal judiciary. In it, he lauds the flexibility and innovation shown by courts across the country as their operations were upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week, IAALS and our project partner HiiL cohosted a series of virtual Justice Data Lab meetings with our US Justice Needs Advisory Committee and a few additional partners. In August launched the individual survey of legal problems, receiving responses from 10,000 individuals from across the United States, and we are now analyzing the data.

Earlier this month, IAALS Manager Michael Houlberg joined Presiding Judge Clemens Landau of the Salt Lake City Justice Court for a webinar that covered new ideas and practices that legal service providers have developed from the COVID-19 pandemic—many of which may bolster the justice system long into the future.

In June of this year, HiiL surveyed thought leaders in the justice sector about what it would mean to deliver justice during the COVID-19 crisis. The goal was to collect real-time data about justice needs and innovative responses to the pandemic, including the kinds of problems expected to increase and the ways justice institutions in various countries were already responding to them. 

In the past few months, there have been encouraging updates in several states aimed at more effectively addressing the legal needs of disaster survivors. Two states—Louisiana and Texas—implemented various tools to help streamline litigation arising from these disasters.

IAALS has released a new report which showcases the innovation occurring in courts, self-help centers, legal aid centers, and law/public libraries throughout the country to address the needs of self-represented litigants in the midst of a global pandemic.

In response to the aftermath caused by COVID-19 to businesses throughout the state of Rhode Island, the state’s Superior Court implemented a Business Recovery Plan with the goal of preserving businesses as they climb through recovery and stabilize their operations and accounts.

Courts currently face a backlog of civil cases that have been placed on hold since mid-March, as well as a predicted wave of case filings stemming from the pandemic. Courts need a framework to adapt to their new reality—and they already have that framework and tools to make meaningful and mandatory changes.

Courts around the country are focused on staying open to ensure access to justice is available; however, with so many doing so much, we need to ensure cross-pollination of these varied ideas by sharing knowledge and combining our collective intellectual capacity across the various silos within our system.

Courts across the country have made giant strides in the use of technology in the wake of COVID-19. The Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators are urging state court officials to continue this momentum, and they have recommended six principles related to courts’ use of technology going forward.

Texas has recently completed an extensive review of their court operations and has proposed new recommendations for resuming jury trials during the pandemic, and is among numerous states and jurisdictions working to reinvent what jury trials look like, both in-person and virtual.

IAALS and HiiL recently launched the largest-ever survey of its kind as part of their US Justice Needs project. This survey will reach people across all regions of the United States, including urban and rural areas and people who have not historically been included, and seek to uncover their experiences in accessing justice when they need it.

​Last month, the National Center for State Courts released their 2020 Trends in State Courts, which includes discussion of the Family Justice Initiative and its Principles for Family Justice Reform. The principles emphasize problem solving and cooperation between parties—especially when children are involved.

Last month, the NCSC commissioned a survey of one thousand registered voters to gauge levels of public trust and confidence in the state courts. Many of the questions focused on the coronavirus pandemic and how respondents felt about remote court processes, protective measures for in-person courthouse appearances, and other new realities.