News & Updates

The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a program to license a new tier of legal service providers, who will be able to practice in certain types of family law matters such as divorce, custody, and protection orders.  

The North Carolina Justice for All Project, created in 2020 to expand access to justice through regulatory reform, is a testament to the power of advocacy and the potential for individuals to drive change.

Over the course of its history, IAALS has sparked undeniable momentum to change the status quo. Read more about our work to reshape our justice system in our 2022 Annual Report.

In Ontario, paralegals have established themselves to be competent legal service providers in many practice areas and are now entrenched in the legal services landscape. Here's what the United States can learn from our experience.

In January, the inaugural Legal Paraprofessional Summit brought together active and future legal paraprofessionals, as well as leaders from a number of states, to learn about the different components of each state’s ALP program and the steps Arizona took to create its program.

Allied legal professional programs have the potential to diversify the legal services market and create more cost-effective legal service models, and they should be created as an important part of a broader legal service ecosystem.

Natalie Knowlton, Zack DeMeola, and several other friends of IAALS made the ABA Journal's 2023 Class of Legal Rebels, recognizing their efforts to push the legal system and profession forward.

IAALS' work as a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to improving the civil justice system through data-driven solutions has never been more critical than it is right now. I am proud of this organization and what we have accomplished this year—and I also know we have much work to do in 2023.

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.

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.

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.