News & Updates

The Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program has released its Final Report on Phase Two. The Seventh Circuit Electronic Discovery Pilot Program originated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois as a response to widespread discussion about the rising burden and cost of electronic discovery. The effort was inspired by the ACTL Task Force and IAALS Final Report, as well as The Sedona Conference® Principles.

The newly-formed Oklahoma Civil Justice Council is developing a judicial rating system that will rate court of civil appeals and supreme court judges on a scale of zero to 100, on the basis of their support for expanding business liabilities. The Council and its rating system are being backed by the State Chamber of Oklahoma and local Chamber affiliates. 

Governor Abercrombie appointed Circuit Court Judge Richard Pollack to the supreme court. Pollack was one of five nominees submitted by the judicial selection commission. This was Governor Abercrombie’s second appointment to the supreme court of his eighteen-month tenure, and he may have the opportunity to fill a third seat on the five-member court.

Professor Michael Madison’s “goal is to inspire students to learn, and to have the confidence to learn, long after they have left [his] classroom.” He adopts a “writing to learn” pedagogy in his copyright course as practice leads to effective learning.

The American Bar Association (ABA) weighed in on the federal judicial nominations that are languishing in the U.S. Senate. On June 20, ABA President Wm. T. (Bill) Robinson III sent a letter on behalf of the ABA to Senate Majority and Minority Leaders expressing concern over judicial vacancies and urging the Senate to vote on those pending appellate court nominees who have strong bipartisan support. 

The judicial selection commission sponsored by Senators Inouye and Akaka submitted to the senators a list of three candidates for an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii. The vacancy is due to Judge David Ezra taking senior status on June 27.

Two of the three supreme court justices up for reelection face challengers in the Republican primary. One justice’s opponent is running to “expose the corrosive influence of big business on the court,” while the other justice’s opponents “want to restore integrity to the court.” The third justice up for reelection faces a Democratic challenger in the general election.

Mark Nadeau is a member of the Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Advisory Committee and the co-managing partner of the Phoenix office of DLA Piper, one of the largest law firms in the world. He recently took some time to talk with us about new lawyers, hiring needs, and legal education, including the limitations of “thinking like a lawyer.”

When Michael Madison left Silicon Valley to begin teaching law, he thought a lot about how to teach judgment. Today, he offers an upper level copyright law course that teaches students judgment, along with legal analysis, factual investigation and analysis, confidence to express an opinion regarding what a client should do (or not), and the ability to express all of those things in writing.

Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers is proud to announce the newest members of its Advisory Committee. Among the new members are a District Attorney, a former Public Defender, a recruiter of in-house counsel, a past president of the American Bar Association…

Previously, we have drawn from the Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers’ survey to describe the 23 ETL Consortium schools, explore the kinds of curricular innovations in which they may be engaged, and see how they compare to law schools more generally. This post continues our description by looking at support for faculty engagement in the improvement of teaching and learning among the ETL Consortium schools.

Invoking what is known as the “Thurmond Rule,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that no votes would be allowed on nominees to the federal courts of appeals until after the November election. Nominees to the district courts will continue to be considered until at least early September.

The proposed 2012 platform of the Iowa Republican Party calls for state legislators to impeach judges who recognize a right to same-sex marriage and supports eliminating the role of the state judicial nominating commission in selecting judges and requiring senate confirmation. The platform will be voted on a the party convention.

After the governor failed to make a judicial appointment within the 30 day limit, the judicial selection commission made the appointment from its list of well-qualified nominees. The governor had selected the same nominee, but he was two days late in doing so.

Mark Nadeau regularly teaches oral advocacy and trial tactics and is a leading commentator on international dispute resolution. As a member of the Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers Advisory Committee, he recently sat down with ETL to discuss his insights into legal education and the issues facing both law schools and new attorneys venturing into practice.

The house judiciary committee tabled by a 13-12 vote a measure calling for merit selection of the state’s appellate judges, and it is unlikely that it will come up again before the legislature’s summer recess. Supporters credit trial lawyers and anti-abortion activists who oppose the measure with blocking its consideration.

The Summer 2012 edition of Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly is now available. Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly is a quarterly newsletter reporting highlights from all IAALS initiatives. Sign up for Transparent Courthouse® Quarterly and other IAALS…

The state bar association gave a supreme court candidate a “not recommended” rating for the first time since 1998, indicating that less than sixty percent of bar members gave her a favorable evaluation. Three supreme court seats are up for election this year, with one incumbent justice running unopposed.

A November ballot measure known as Proposition 115 would make two fairly substantial changes to the judicial nominating process, by requiring the commission to submit eight names (rather than at least three) to the governor for possible appointment and by limiting the role of the bar in selecting attorney commission members.

As part of the Atlantic's "America the Fixable" series, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis laid out the challenges currently facing the civil justice system—and a five-step plan to address them.