News & Updates

The Yale Law Journal recently featured the growing debate on regulatory reform. In part two of a two-part series, we recap Ralph Baxter's arguments that reforms are necessary to meaningfully address the access to justice crisis.

The Yale Law Journal recently featured the growing debate on regulatory reform. In part one of a two-part series, we recap Stephen Younger's arguments that nonlawyer ownership won't solve the access to justice crisis.

IAALS has released a landscape report along with an accompanying online Knowledge Center that offer a compilation and comparison of existing programs nationwide for establishing new tiers of legal professionals who can provide legal services to the public.

New research from Stanford Law School illuminates how regulatory reform efforts, including those in Utah and Arizona, are fostering innovation and increasing access to legal services.

IAALS has released Unbundled Legal Services in the New Normal, a new report highlighting key takeaways from the national 2021 conference, as well as a new resource center to help consumers, lawyers, and courts get how-to information on promoting and utilizing unbundled legal services.

In July, IAALS continued the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel delving into alternative lawyer licensing programs, how they differ from the current bar exam, what some jurisdictions are already testing, and how these alternatives might impact the profession.

It was the founders’ vision that we establish a more perfect union, with justice first and foremost in achieving that goal. To do this, we must rebuild our justice system to ensure that people’s needs are realized in an accessible, fair, equitable, and accountable way.

IAALS submitted this comment to the Colorado Supreme Court in support of the Colorado Licensed Legal Paraprofessionals Program. The program would authorize paraprofessionals to provide limited legal services in family law without attorney supervision.

The State Bar of California’s foray into legal regulatory innovation has a relatively long history, yet its progress will be halted and disregarded unless Governor Newsom stands up to special-interest attorney groups.

In January, the i4j Program at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law proposed expanding several legal paraprofessional programs to include a housing training certificate, equipping community members to provide limited-scope representation related to housing issues.

The American Bar Association Center for Innovation has released the inaugural issue of the Innovation Trends Report, which explores innovation within the ABA, in legal technology, and in legal regulatory reform.

The Oregon Supreme Court has approved a program that will license individuals who aren’t lawyers to provide limited legal services in family law and landlord/tenant issues. This makes Oregon the fifth state in the country to enlist a new tier of legal professionals in the effort to provide more access to legal help.

A growing number of states are exploring the permanent implementation of alternative licensure approaches that would allow law school graduates to obtain their license through nontraditional avenues that run adjacent to—or bypass entirely—the bar exam.

In May 2022, the Minnesota Supreme Court hosted a public hearing on several recommendations to improve the state's Legal Paraprofessional Pilot Project. Speakers in favor and opposition of the recommendations came together for constructive dialogue on tangible ways to improve the program and, ultimately, increase access to legal services.

Last week, IAALS gathered with our partners and friends for our 14th Annual Rebuilding Justice Award Dinner. We were thrilled to welcome people back in person after three years to celebrate this year’s honorees, as well as recognize our collective efforts to build a more accessible, fair, and efficient civil justice system.

This year, the ABA marks Law Day 2022 with the theme of "Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change." Today, we should reflect on the shortcomings of our justice system and worry about the threats to democracy and the rule of law. But we should also celebrate the strides that have been made and the promise ahead.

In February, IAALS and its partners, including the National Conference of Bar Presidents, continued the Redesigning Legal Speaker Series with a panel exploring the role of state bars in regulatory reform.

A new project will help standardize a new tier of legal professionals nationally. Allied legal professionals—similar to nurse practitioners—hold a key to bringing more accessible and affordable legal help where it is needed most. IAALS seeks to facilitate the adoption of allied legal professional programs around the country and assist states in making informed decisions on how to structure these efforts.

The challenges we face continue to upend our lives. But we cannot go back, so instead we must forge a better future. Our work in 2021, as described in our Annual Report, has moved the needle and opened new doors for those in need of justice.

IAALS is thrilled to announce that Dan Rodriguez, former dean and current Howard Washington Professor of Law of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, will join the organization as our scholar-in-residence for two weeks this year, with ongoing collaboration on our projects.