News & Updates

Over the past 20 years, IAALS has built a national reputation as an independent force behind civil justice transformation. Read more about our impact in our 2025 Annual Report.

Over the past 20 years, IAALS has built a national reputation for advancing bold, practical solutions across our justice system by cutting through division with data and dialogue.

In 2025, IAALS connected experts and leaders to help build innovative solutions that address the most pressing challenges facing our justice system.

Logan Cornett and Ericka Byram gave presentations at the International Access to Justice Forum on expanding community participation in research and AI.

Utah's legal regulatory sandbox was designed to open the door to new kinds of legal service providers and business structures, including entities with nonlawyer ownership and nonlawyer practitioners, who could offer legal services to the public. IAALS has now completed our interim evaluation, with findings published across a four-part report series covering background, process evaluation, outcomes evaluation, and social return on investment analysis.

On Constitution Day, when the tendency is to wax poetic regarding the historic significance of our Constitution, we must be reminded of this living framework and its provision of both rights and responsibilities. We all have a role in ensuring the continued strength of our democracy.

The ABA Journal recently highlighted the significance of Foundations 2.0 and its potential to reshape how we define and assess lawyer readiness. Our survey is now live, and we’re inviting lawyers across the country to weigh in.

IAALS has launched Pathways to Legal Licensure, a landmark empirical study examining multiple approaches to attorney licensure across the United States. The project will assess how different licensure pathways measure and uphold minimum competency in the legal profession.

IAALS has released recommendations for modernizing judicial performance evaluation, including a set of reforms designed to help states strengthen judicial accountability, promote public trust, and ensure the courts meet the needs of today’s society.

The path to justice runs through IAALS. At every level, we are making our system more just—and our work puts our core values into practice. Read our 2024 Annual Report.

Robert Southers discusses what drives his passion for access to justice, building trust with the community, and what it means to receive the Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award.

As we begin 2025, IAALS is poised to make our biggest gains to date as we work to bring better access to our justice system for everyone. We have laid the groundwork for innovations across many states and sectors of our system—due in large part to people like you, our partners and colleagues.

There is a clear groundswell that we must do more than just laud democracy and the rule of law. While there is great importance in speaking to the value of these American institutions, there is a great necessity to do much more to uphold them.

Eduardo Gonzalez discusses what drives his passion for access to justice, overcoming systemic challenges in our civil justice system, and what it means to receive the Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award.

IAALS has released the results of an eight-state survey of 658 judges on judicial performance evaluation, providing key insights into judges' perspectives on the process. New national recommendations for JPE enhancements are coming later in 2024.

The world at large is constantly evolving, and so must our civil justice system. In on 2023 Annual Report, read how our work centers the people and how our solutions cascade from IAALS to the millions who benefit nationwide.

IAALS and the Law School Admission Council have announced a new joint project designed to provide a comprehensive updated view of the skills and competencies new lawyers need to succeed and serve clients well in the rapidly evolving legal profession.

Throughout the past year, IAALS has been at the forefront of advancing justice by broadening access to legal assistance, rethinking regulation, and redefining legal licensure. As we step into 2024, we remain dedicated to bringing about transformative change within the justice system.

As the legal profession undergoes a renaissance, proactive data collection is crucial. Here, we provide a strategic approach—defining objectives, ensuring data quality, and fostering a culture of learning—to enhance evidence-based decision-making, promote accountability, and achieve program success.

The Utah Bar Admissions Working Group has proposed an inventive attorney licensure path rooted in IAALS' Building a Better Bar research. It addresses traditional bar exam shortcomings by prioritizing competence, diversity, and access to justice through five requirements for admission and continuous assessment.