News & Updates

A new poll—this one commissioned by the Kansas Policy Institute—shows that Kansans see no need to change the process for selecting the state’s appellate judges. According to the recent poll, 54 percent of Kansans believe it is “in citizens’ best interests to have judges recommended for appointment to the Kansas Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals by a majority-attorney panel,” while 39 percent disagree.

Two Colorado attorneys discuss the utility of Colorado’s simplified civil procedure rule (C.R.C.P. 16.1) in the Point/Counterpoint section of The Colorado Lawyer’s February edition. One of the authors mentions IAALS’ comprehensive study of Rule 16.1, although our report had not yet been released at the time of the article deadline.

Today, numerous pilot projects are in various stages of consideration and implementation around the country, with proportionality in discovery a key theme among projects. In his recent article “Proportionality: The key to reducing corporation e-discovery costs,” Philip Favro recognizes this common theme and notes that “several circuit and district courts have recently championed proportionality as a benchmark for decreasing e-discovery costs.”

The Delaware Court of Chancery has amended its Rules regarding discovery, effective January 1, 2013, to "account for modern discovery demands" and to bring the Court’s rules in line with "current practice." The Court has also expanded its Guidelines To Help Practitioners In The Court of Chancery to include guidelines regarding discovery.

An informal Senate agreement on the rules of filibusters has the potential to accelerate confirmations of federal district court judges. The agreement reduces the amount of time required to overcome a filibuster and force a vote.

The Western District of Washington has amended its Local Civil Rules, which include their express purpose of promoting “the just, efficient, speedy, and economical determination of every action and proceeding.” Local Rule 26(f) states that the proportionality standard set forth in Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2)(C) “must be applied in every case when parties formulate a discovery plan and promulgate discovery requests.”

On the same day that jury selection began in the trial of a supreme court justice charged with illegal campaign practices, a Pennsylvania legislator introduced a measure that would end partisan elections for appellate judges.

Professors JoNel Newman and Melissa Swain teach a unique clinic at the University of Miami Law School that integrates legal, medical, and social work to help students learn better patient/client advocacy skills. Students from both the law school and medical school are cross-trained in each other’s disciplines, bringing the two professions together through real and mock situations and simulating the realities outside the classroom.

This week the judiciary committee in both the house of representatives and the senate approved measures that would alter the process for choosing the state’s appellate judges. The proposed constitutional amendment would eliminate the judicial nominating commission and require senate confirmation of appointments.

Richard H. Middleton, Jr. is the owner and senior trial attorney in The Middleton Firm, LLC, based in Savannah, Georgia. Middleton joins the Advisory Committee to Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers with more than 30 years in mass tort and class action practice. Middleton will partner with an experienced Advisory Committee comprised of a wide variety of stakeholders with unique perspectives on the skills and knowledge necessary for the evolving legal profession.

The Denver Post reports that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear Raymond Moore's nomination today for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The slow pace of the judicial nomination and confirmation process, normally bogged down by partisanship, may have relented for Moore, who will be considered in the first group of confirmation hearings.

On January 17, The University of Arkansas at Little Rock announced that Michael Hunter Schwartz had been appointed the new dean of the William H. Bowen School of Law. Schwartz is an Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers fellow, who has demonstrated a commitment to integrating practice-based learning and professionalism into the classroom. We thank Schwartz for his commitment to improving legal education and congratulate him on his much deserved appointment.

For children of divorcing parents, grandparents can provide the safety and security that is so vitally needed by them during this time of transition. Often, grandparents are caught in the middle of the high emotion and stress that accompanies divorce.

In the United States, divorce has been present as far back as the colonization. However, it was not until 2010 that all 50 states had a no-fault divorce law in place, with New York being the last state. Abraham Lincoln is not the first image of a divorce attorney that comes to mind, yet he handled over 125 divorce cases between 1837 and 1861.

Two candidates have filed to challenge Justice Pat Roggensack’s bid for another six-year term on the Wisconsin high court. One of those candidates has encouraged his opponents to discuss their party affiliation and how they would rule on hot-button issues with voters, despite the fact that Wisconsin judicial elections are officially nonpartisan.

Elizabeth Phillips, a third year law student at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, knew she wanted to go to law school, but she also knew that selecting the right school that could equip her with the tools needed to actually practice law was essential. Having done her research, "it became clear to [her] that DU’s practical education was paying off" for new grads in the area and could afford her the best opportunities upon graduation.

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire entered an order last week amending the Superior Court Proportional Discovery/Automatic Disclosure Pilot Project Rules to implement the PAD Pilot Rules in all counties beginning March 1, 2013.

Alabama has passed legislation, SB 47 (Act 2012-492), which requires the Alabama Supreme Court to adopt expedited trial procedures for cases in circuit court where the amount in controversy does not exceed $50,000. In contrast, Louisiana also passed legislation, HCR 81, which requests the Louisiana State Law Institute study jury trial procedures and make recommendations for an expedited or summary jury trial program.

The New York Times has reported that the divorce rate in Spain is 17 percent lower than it was in 2006, when changes to the law simplified divorce proceedings. The Spanish Judicial Council attributes this decrease in divorce to Spain's protracted economic crisis.

Ben Madison, an Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Fellow, recently discussed teaching materials and help available for those who want to try Carnegie methods in a post on the Best Practices for Legal Education blog. He noted that “plenty know about Carnegie’s recommendations, but too few know of the steps taken, since the report, to implement it.”