News & Updates

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.

The National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ) launched the Justice Index just over a year ago. This first-of-its-kind Index provides a spectrum of data that compares states in regards to access to justice across four categories: 1) number of civil…

The June 2012 edition of the Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers newsletter is now available. Sign up for this and other IAALS newsletters here.

IAALS’ JPE 2.0 project is investigating and responding to concerns about judicial performance evaluation—with a goal of renewing JPE as a valued and trusted process going forward. A foundational white paper from IAALS serves as a primer for these important developments.

States across the country are wrestling with the question of whether a mandatory retirement age should be imposed upon judges, and if so, what that age should be. A number of states are considering raising or eliminating their age limits, while in at least one state, lowering the maximum age has been proposed by legislators to try and keep the courts in line.

In anticipation of confirmation hearings for Governor Christie’s two supreme court appointees, public employees unions expressed concern to the senate about the governor’s partisan approach to judicial appointments. They allege that the governor selected a Republican “posing as an independent” in order to observe the tradition of party balance on the supreme court.

Our Paths to Justice Summit Series, launched in 2021, focused on the ways our justice system needed to adapt in the wake of the pandemic. Our latest report underscores the importance of a people-centered approach, embracing technology, and promoting diversity, advocating for an ongoing commitment to progress within the interconnected civil justice system.

Do you trust the judiciary? If you thought “yes,” then you may be in a shrinking crowd. Judge Kevin S. Burke, Hennepin County district judge and IAALS board member, begins a recent article with candor – Public trust in the courts has dropped to an…

In the dispute over who should replace Kitty Kimball as chief justice when she steps down in early 2013, a federal district court judge ruled that Justice Bernice Johnson’s service from 1994 to 2000 as part of a civil rights case settlement should count toward her seniority. Attorneys for the state had argued that the issue should be decided by the state supreme court, and they have appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

In the aftermath of severe hurricanes in the southeastern United States, it's crucial to ensure that justice remains accessible. IAALS’ Disaster Protocols are designed to keep the justice system functional, even in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Throughout this month, we've been releasing the fantastic Ignite-style presentations given at our 4th Annual Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference by ETL Fellows and faculty from across the ETL Consortium. Faculty discussed an array of issues, from the innovations and outcomes of their school’s classes, programs, or curricula, to innovations within the realm of legal education more broadly.

The cast of "West Wing" has reunited to film two short web videos, urging voters to participate in nonpartisan state supreme court elections. One video specifically plugs Michigan Supreme Court candidate Bridget Mary McCormack while the other is a geared toward a more national audience.

When I was first contacted by IAALS in early 2014 about the possibility of replicating the methodology used to investigate the lived experiences of self-represented litigants in three Canadian provinces, I was thrilled. I had spent the previous two years conducting this (qualitative, interview-based) research and our results were published in 2013. While the data revealed many multi-layered complexities, diversities, and variables in the experiences of those without counsel, it underscored one new reality.

The state bar association launched a website to give voters more information about appellate judges standing for retention. The site explains the merit selection and retention system, provides bios and photos of judges on the ballot, and includes links to judges’ decisions. It was created in response to the judicial ratings issued by the state chamber-backed Oklahoma Civil Justice Council, based on judges’ rulings in civil liability cases.

Today, IAALS unveiled two new reports—one of which captures the experiences of litigants navigating U.S. family courts without attorneys, and the other makes recommendations for courts and others to help better serve these litigants. There is broad consensus that, in some courts, upwards of 80–90% of family cases involve at least one self-represented party. In many instances, when parties are not represented, difficulties arise for litigants and courts alike. Cases Without Counsel highlights a very real justice gap and gives urgency to the challenge of creating client-centric family law courts and processes.

A former governor and a former supreme court justice oppose a measure on the November ballot that would give the legislature the same authority as the supreme court to make rules governing the administration of all state courts.

After the release of the first two reports from our Foundations for Practice project, Law Week Colorado published an article highlighting the groundbreaking findings, which “have the power to radically shift the discussion about what law schools teach and how employers hire."

Following the defeat of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have given the governor greater authority in appointing nominating commission members and more discretion in selecting judges, supporters of the measure vowed to "regroup and move forward with something more aggressive" for 2014.

On November 3, the federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee met in Washington D.C. to discuss a range of issues—from current proposed rule amendments to future projects focused on discovery practice and active judicial case management. The Committee is…

Recently, during the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators, many state chief justices, court administrators, and legislators attended or participated in a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the National Center for State Courts. At this discussion, panelists addressed how courts should best handle the severe judiciary budget cuts impacting the nation's courts, especially in light of the public's increasing demand for court services.