News & Updates

Pro bono work, while worthwhile and commendable, cannot supplant for the need for a significant change in the way our legal system is regulated. 

In two promising developments for regulatory reform, the Arizona Task Force on the Delivery of Legal Services published its official report and recommendations, and the Chicago Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Foundation announced the creation of a task force to identify regulatory reform recommendations. Arizona's recommendations reflect IAALS' vision for a consumer-centered regulatory system that will better meet the needs of all people. 

IAALS submitted this comment to the California State Bar Task Force on Access Through Innovation for Legal Services (ATILS) as part of its request for public comment on its tentative regulatory recommendations for enhancing the delivery of, and access to, legal services. Through our Unlocking Legal Regulation project, which is launching soon, we are partnering with Utah to bring bold innovation to the realm of legal regulation and the provision of legal services.

NCSC's 2019 Trends in State Courts explores various ways to make state court processes both more user-friendly and relevant, from newly developed apps providing people with access to legal advice to remote technology options providing better access to justice for self-represented litigants. 

In her final post as Executive Director, Rebecca Love Kourlis discusses the public’s low trust and confidence in the American legal system. IAALS will be rolling out the results of its research in the area over the next few months, and begins with three papers, which together kick off a part of the conversation IAALS calls “Are We at a Boiling Point?”

In the first-ever, broad-based research of its kind, IAALS is partnering with HiiL to assess the justice needs of people and businesses in the United States. The issue of access to justice is broader and deeper in our society than has historically been recognized. What we learn will provide the insight we need to reform the American legal system and tailor services to meet the needs of all users.

With heavy hearts we share the news of IAALS Senior Director Alli Gerkman’s passing after a long battle with cancer. There are no words that can adequately convey who Alli was—and who she was to us. Alli was a force of nature. She was a captivating presence and was remarkable in her ability to connect with others. Alli knew how to get things done and how to make things work. She knew what it meant to work hard and to laugh harder. She was a teammate and a friend. And she has left an incredible legacy.

As state courts work to serve the substantial numbers of litigants who navigate the civil and family court process without an attorney, they are taking a variety of approaches. One approach is the use of “nonlawyer navigators.” A recent study from the Justice Lab at Georgetown Law Center identified and analyzed 23 nonlawyer navigator programs and provides recommendations.

It is no secret that divorce poses significant problems for those who go through the legal process. The adversarial nature of the legal process can put people at odds with one another and the courts are not well-positioned to provide emotional and future-planning support. IAALS has released a new report detailing the evaluation of our out-of-court model aimed at addressing these challenges for families with children.

This week, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and Senior Director Brittany Kauffman have been attending the World Justice Forum at The Hague. The Forum has generated discussion around some of the most pressing legal topics in the world today.

IAALS’ Court Compass project has received an honorable mention as part of the World Justice Project’s World Justice Challenge 2019. Thirty projects have been selected as finalists to be showcased at the World Justice Forum on April 29 – May 2, and IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and Senior Director Brittany Kauffman will be in attendance and speaking on panels.

“Justice for all.” It is a promise of American democracy and enshrined in our Pledge of Allegiance. And yet, it is not a reality. IAALS wants to change all of that. We are proud to present you with our 2018 Annual Report, which highlights our work and accomplishments within this important context.

Given the large number of people who navigate the legal system without any representation, justice system stakeholders have a duty to cut through the legalese and ensure that the system is more understandable to laypeople. To further that goal, IAALS is proud to co-sponsor a conference later this month at Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law, entitled Plain and Simple: Making the Legal System Accessible to All.

The National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP), recently announced the launch of their rebranded blog, “The Access Revolution Blog: Dispatches from the Frontlines.” The goal of the blog is to serve as a collaborative platform, breaking down the disconnect between users of the court and legal stakeholders, and to offer practical solutions to address the access to justice problem in Canada. 

Last month the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) launched a new website service to assist SRLs navigate complex court forms. The main site, a2j.org, hosts a series of “Guided Interviews” that walk SRLs through filling out various court forms using decision trees.

For the fifth year in a row, the National Center for State Courts has conducted a comprehensive public opinion survey to gauge the level of public trust and confidence in the state courts. The State of the State Courts survey provides an important window into public views of our court system, including comparisons across past surveys and insights into key issues for the future of our state courts including self-representation and online dispute resolution.

Courts are—to a great extent—in the business of customer service. A new IAALS report, Eighteen Ways Courts Should Use Technology to Better Serve Their Customers, provides a path forward to help courts use existing technologies to improve the user experience, particularly for those people who choose to represent themselves.

Our courts are suffering from a severe lack of public confidence. In a recent piece for the ABA Journal, ABA President-elect Judy Perry Martinez suggests that the causes are twofold, and to begin rebuilding public trust and confidence in our courts, she has a few suggestions.

According to news reports, a state district judge in Oklahoma agreed to resign following a petition describing numerous acts of misconduct. The case illustrates several aspects of state judicial discipline highlighted in a recent IAALS report.

The State of Oregon continues to blaze a trail in civil justice reform. A new report from the Oregon Judicial Department, released at the end of June, contains recommendations to improve civil justice in the state, and it provides a master class for other states looking to reform their own systems.