News & Updates

President Obama’s efforts to fill judicial vacancies have been complicated by the American Bar Association’s ratings of potential nominees. The ABA’s judicial vetting committee has rated 14 of 185 potential nominees as “not qualified,” and the administration has a policy of not nominating such candidates.

The governor appointed Beth Robinson to the supreme court. She is the first openly gay justice to serve on the court.

Former chief justice Roy Moore, known to many as the “Ten Commandments judge,” announced plans to run for chief justice in 2012. Moore was removed from the court in 2003 for defying a federal judge’s order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state judicial building.

Be sure to look for Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers when the ABA Journal hits your mailbox this month. The article about our initiative notes the good timing of our launch (is there anyone committed to the legal profession who isn't interested in legal education right now?) and highlights Professor Roberto Corrada's labor relations class at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Paul Lippe, the CEO of Legal OnRamp, weighs in on the ongoing conversation about legal education reform: But I see the issue differently. It is not that law school is incomplete in training lawyers—which by any definition it must be—but that it lacks engagement.

The Third Branch, the blog of the United States Courts, discussed the background and objectives of the pilot project in the Southern District of New York. 

Amanda Gonzalez, Executive Director of Ms. JD, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the success of women in law school and the legal profession, has posted a review of Rebuilding Justice.

This article takes a look at the growing tension between law firms and companies about who should be paying to train first-year associates and proposes solutions, including retooling law school curriculum.

Two Saturdays ago, the New York Times posted this article about the failure of law schools to adequately prepare lawyers for the practice of law.

The supreme court announced that it will not revisit its decision in Avery v. State Farm. The petition to vacate the decision was based on recent allegations that State Farm had contributed more than $3 million to the election campaign of one of the justices.

Of the 100 justices who have served on the supreme court since statehood, only 36 have been elected to their seats. The rest were appointed by the governor to fill mid-term vacancies. But with two open-seat races in 2012, the court will have a majority of elected justices for the first time since 1913.

In 2012, superior court judges in Pinal County will stand for retention rather than reelection. Because the county’s population now exceeds 250,000, its judges will now be included in the state’s merit selection, retention election, and performance evaluation program. Pinal County joins Maricopa County and Pima County.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge was rebuked by a disciplinary committee of the Federal Judicial Conference for his longtime membership in a country club that has no black or women voting members. The judge is retiring at the end of the year.

Click here to read the article.

As part of his plan to “overhaul” the federal government, Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry proposed eighteen-year, staggered terms for supreme court justices and similarly limited terms for lower federal court judges.

A state court judge ruled that the governor must disclose the names of nominees submitted by the judicial selection commission. Unlike his predecessors, the governor had refused to make the names public because he feared it would deter attorneys from applying for judgeships if the names were disclosed.

Governor Gregoire appointed superior court judge Steven Gonzalez to the supreme court to fill the vacancy created by Justice Gerry Alexander’s retirement. Gonzalez is only the second Hispanic to serve on the supreme court.

A trial court judge was censured and suspended without pay for six months for living outside her district and misleading investigators about it. The constitution requires judges to live in the district in which they serve at the time of their selection and throughout their term.

After a controversial article last week, the New York Times editorial board weighs in: "American legal education is in crisis."

Dennis Kaw is the General Counsel for Appliance Factory Outlet and its affiliates. In his Voices from the Field interview, Kaw remarks on the need for law students to have more practical experience in law schools before entering the profession. He also suggests that law schools emulate the business school model of teaching students leadership and strategy.

As David Segal’s November 19 article accurately reflects, the legal market is changing.  Clients are no longer willing to foot the bill for young lawyers’ training, and thus law firms are increasingly looking to the law schools to produce practice-ready graduates. The good news is that there are clear solutions to the problem, and they are already in motion.