News & Updates

Following an 18-month study, a Wisconsin state bar task force proposed that supreme court justices serve a single 16-year term. Justices currently serve 10-year terms and may stand for reelection. Though term limits would not stem the tide of candidate and special interest spending in the state's judicial elections, supporters believe term limits could help restore the public's trust in a court that has been plagued in recent years by alleged ethics violations and interpersonal conflicts.

The December 2011 edition of the Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers newsletter is now available. Sign up for this and other IAALS newsletters here.

The percentage of self-represented litigants in many state family courts is substantial. According to a new post by the National Self-Represented Litigants Project (NSRLP), these self-represented parties often feel like outsiders in a court system that appears to them as a private club. 

Effective July 1, 2013, two current IAALS managers stepped up to lead their respective divisions. Corina Gerety has assumed the role of Director of Research and Brittany Kauffman is now Director of the Rule One Initiative. The IAALS Research Department supports all substantive initiative areas as needed, providing a broad range of research assistance. The Rule One Initiative serves to advance empirically informed models for court processes and procedures that provide greater accessibility, efficiency, and accountability in the civil justice system.

A newly elected judge sent letters to 700 local lawyers soliciting $100 contributions to help defray his campaign debt.

In December 2018, NCSC issued its Final Report for the Arizona Superior Court’s three-year Commercial Court Pilot Program, which provides a formal analysis of the impact of the Commercial Court in cases not involving emergency relief, and offers additional recommendations to help streamline the now permanent Commercial Court.

Thanks to a working group of judges and lawyers, California's Administrative Office of the Courts now offers a required course on judicial ethics for incumbent judges and attorney challengers running for judicial office. Judicial candidates must complete the course within 60 days of filing for office, creating a campaign committee, or receiving a campaign contribution.

Two candidates have filed to run for the supreme court seat being vacated by Justice Tom Chambers, who announced his intention to retire at the end of the year. Former justice Richard Sanders, who lost a bid for reelection in 2010, is considering running as well.

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

IAALS is extremely grateful for the unwavering generosity of the Gates Frontiers Fund. Entirely supported by gifts and grants, IAALS values support at every level. They have been with us from the beginning—investing in our practical, comprehensive, non-partisan process and partnering with us at every step. While their financial support is significant, their belief in us is truly priceless. Thank you to all of our donors.

Penny Pether is a Professor of law at Villanova University School of Law, where she teaches constitutional law, comparative constitutional law, law and literature, criminal law, and criminal procedure. In her Voices from the Field interview, Pether gives several suggestions for how the American legal education system can mirror some examples from her native Australia.

The critically acclaimed Netflix movie depicts a couple who decides to end their marriage. Although dramatized, the movie portrays several realities of the traditional divorce process—and highlights where alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation could provide a more collaborative forum for resolving family disputes.

 

For the first time in more than 40 years, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has amended its Code of Judicial Conduct. Among the new rules is a provision that requires judges to recuse themselves from hearing cases where the judge knows or learns that a party, a party's lawyer, or the law firm of a party's lawyer has made a direct or indirect contribution(s) to the judge's campaign.

The judicial nominating commission conducted final interviews of applicants for the supreme court vacancy created by Chief Justice Randall Shepard’s retirement. Three of the finalists are women, and Indiana is one of three states without a woman on its supreme court.

Law Day 2020 celebrates the centennial of the transformative amendment that gave women the right to vote. As we recognize this moment in our country's history, we also remember that the 19th Amendment has not translated to broader gender equality—and that our justice system, too, is not immune to claims of systemic inequality and bias.

The terms of three members of Florida's seven-member supreme court are set to expire at the same time that the next Florida governor's term expires—on January 8, 2019. Recognizing that state law is unclear as to whether the outgoing or incoming governor has the authority to fill judicial vacancies that occur on inauguration day, a Republican senator has offered a proposed constitutional amendment that would empower the outgoing governor to make these appointments.

In an en banc ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit restored provisions of the state code of judicial conduct that bar judges and judicial candidates from personally soliciting or accepting contributions from groups of fewer than 20 people, and from endorsing other political candidates.

The Chicago Bar Association and Chicago Bar Foundation Task Force on the Sustainable Practice of Law and Innovation is one of the latest groups to issue a set of recommendations that seek to address the growing disconnect between the public’s legal needs and the lawyers who can serve them. The task force is accepting public comment on these recommendations through August 21.

From coast to coast and everywhere in between, we have collected stories from real people who share IAALS' passion for and dedication to a legal system that is accessible, trustworthy, relevant, and responsive. Their personal accounts of impact are woven throughout our 2013 Annual Report along with a detailed account of our accomplishments in the past year, which set the stage for an ambitious future slate of projects.

Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers adds two new partners to its Consortium of law schools that demonstrate a commitment to legal education reform and current Carnegie-style curricular offerings. Albany Law School has a long-established focus on student…