News & Updates

Lawmakers in California recently spoke out against the state bar's exploration of regulatory reform as a means to address the access-to-justice crisis. However, the need for efficient and affordable legal services is growing exponentially—and data suggests that legal services innovation could a key part of the solution.

It’s been almost three-and-a-half years since we launched Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers. In that time, we have played a critical role in bringing the profession and the academy together to work toward collaborative solutions that will raise not only the institution of legal education, but also the legal profession. We are beginning 2015 with the launch of a new logo that captures this convergence and the many people who will play a role in this process.

In May, IAALS hosted the Udall-Bennet Federal Judicial Screening Committee, which was charged with interviewing applicants for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado and recommending highly qualified candidates to the senators. IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis and Denver attorney Hal Haddon served as co-chairs of the bipartisan, 11-member advisory committee.

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.

In a recent blog post, Richard Zorza shares some thoughts on improving services for self-represented litigants in the United States. He believes that the legal system needs an aspirational goal to address access to justice, which can ultimately move the system in the direction of meaningful change.

Three Democratic senators asked Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to investigate allegations that a Republican legislator pressured superior court judges regarding a judicial nomination. According to the senators, the Republican lawmaker told two judges facing re-nomination that the governor would “end their judicial careers” if they did not persuade Democrats to sign off on the governor’s nominee.

IAALS' new report analyzes the evolving role of courts in resolving cases and the factors impacting future filings, providing courts with the necessary data for planning, policymaking, and reform efforts.

With three of the seven seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court up for election in November, the stakes were high in the May 19 primaries. The twelve candidates raised more than $5 million and spent approximately half of that on TV ads. The ads tended to focus on the need to restore the high court’s integrity, in light of the fact that two of the vacancies were created by resignations in the face of scandal.

The Legal Profession course at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, taught by Professor Bill Henderson, advances students' professional skills through a 1L competency model that focuses on active listening, empathy, self-awareness, asking…

As the legal profession undergoes a renaissance, proactive data collection is crucial. Here, we provide a strategic approach—defining objectives, ensuring data quality, and fostering a culture of learning—to enhance evidence-based decision-making, promote accountability, and achieve program success.

Navigating federal court without an attorney, self-represented ( pro se) litigants are often lost “in a maze of procedural rules and arcane terminology,” regardless of the strength of their case. However, starting this past March, low-income self…

The plaintiff in a challenge to the constitutionality of the process for selecting the state's appellate judges asked two retired supreme court justices and a former federal judge to recuse themselves from a special five-member panel appointed by Governor Haslam to hear the case, alleging that as former judges "their impartiality might reasonably be questioned."

July is Disability Pride Month, emphasizing the importance of an inclusive justice system. By addressing physical and procedural barriers, we can ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, has equal access to justice.

We kicked off the 4th Annual Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Conference on October 1 with 16 (yes, sixteen!) Ignite-style presentations, given by ETL Fellows and faculty from across the ETL Consortium. We heard about strategic planning, hybrid programs, new curricula, leadership and skills development, and—importantly—lots of collaboration!

The founders of Justice Not Politics, a 501(c)(4) organization formed to defend three justices against retention challenges in 2010, have established a 527 organization called Justice Not Politics Action to support Justice David Wiggins’ retention.

IAALS' new report on regulating AI in the delivery of consumer-facing legal services outlines a clear and actionable framework for how the legal profession can respond to the rise of artificial intelligence tools already being used by the public to navigate legal issues.

Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Consortium member Touro Law Center has released the second issue of its Journal of Experiential Learning. The issue focuses on incubator and residency programs and their impact on legal education and law students…

The Iowa Supreme Court finds itself battling to maintain a fair and independent judiciary as a group of Iowans, now backed by the state's Republican party, intensify their campaign for the removal of Justice David Wiggins. In an attempt to keep campaign politics out of Iowa's judicial merit selection system, Justice Wiggins, like his previously ousted colleagues, has refused to launch a retention campaign to fight his removal.

Changes to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure are on the horizon. Scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016, the amendments “will affect the maximum permitted length of briefs, the time available for responding to briefs and motions that…

There is speculation that the GOP will return the state to partisan judicial elections if Republicans win control of the legislative and executive branches in November. The legislature made appellate court elections nonpartisan in 2004, but all eight appellate court candidates have clear partisan affiliations.